Forced Forbearance
by NekoIllustrations
Summary: He wanted one, his memories wanted another. Resistance meant punishment, acting on impulses meant madness. Restraint...that was rewarded by peace. With his time running out, will he be able to find happiness, or will he destroy himself in the attempt?
1. Stormy Horizons

**AN: Well here it is, my second, and, as I see it, way more successful rewrite of In Memoriam. Before we move on, I'd just like to say that all my characterxOC fics are basically developmental exercises that I use to hone my writing skills and develop the personality of my OC. Each version of this character generally has the same name and appearance, though each one is a different personality level for the actual OC I plan to use in an original fiction later on. Is this particular story, I'm developing a more rough, violent nature for the OC. For anyone else developing a character they plan to put in their own story, I find this method very helpful and highly recommend it.**

**Now that my long-winded explanation is over, let's move on and enjoy the story ^w^**

**~Stormy Horizons~**

The merchant stepped off his ship, hood pulled low over his head to shield himself from the pouring rain. He looked up at the familiar buildings nostalgically, a triumphant smile on his lips.

Today, after seven long years, he was back. He would take them away from this place and they would happy and together again.

He approached the house, but before he could knock on the door, a passerby called out to him.

"You won't find anyone there," he said, "Man took his sons and abandoned that place, leaving his wife and poor little daughter behind. The two of them left around five years ago."

"How do you know this?" the merchant asked.

"I smuggled them to China," he said, "I work down in the port, the only one this place has opened to outsiders. The mother joined some European dance troop that was there at the time, then I heard she'd passed on and her daughter just sort of disappeared shortly after the funeral," he shrugged, "Guess the Kami just don't want us to leave this forsaken place. Wonder if it's Karma for something our ancestors did in the past."

The man fell to his knees, despair filling his heart.

_Gone._

The sailor looked at him pitifully, "You didn't abandon them, did you?"

The merchant shook his head, "It just took so long," he said, "and I couldn't risk sending a letter."

The sailor nodded, holding out his hand, "Name's Yamane Kenta," he said, "I captain a nice ship. I'll take you on bored if you want to search for your little girl. After all, disappeared doesn't mean dead, now does it?"

* * *

"Mo-moyashi?" Kanda gasped, watching in horror as the boy pushed him away, his skin turning an ashen grey color. It was the hue that Kanda new a little too well from their first excursion into the ark.

He looked down at the blood on his blade and knew that this was his fault. Why did he have to get so upset? Why did he have to lose control?

_Why did he have to remember?_

Alma was getting up shakily, preparing to aim a blast at him that Kanda could sense would destroy them both.

_It's alright, Alma. Just do it, I'm done. I've caused everyone enough pain._

_Just…do it…_

Kanda briefly wondered what it would be like to finally die. Was there really such a place as Heaven? Would he go there? What would it feel like? Would he see the people he'd lost from his life? Would he see Daisya? Would he see the others who had been killed?

Just who would greet him?

* * *

"What is it, Katrina?"

She jumped a little bit at the sudden sound of his voice. Looking away from the window, she shook her head, "It's nothing…I'm just a little…frustrated…" she said.

The young man looked at her nervously, "Do you not want to go through with this?" he asked, gently placing his hand over hers, "I-I'll understand if you don't."

The young woman shook her head, "It's just," she began, "By the time I got married, or even engaged, I'd thought things would be different."

"How so?" her companion asked.

"I thought I'd know who I was," she said painfully, "Where I came from, who I am, what I was doing right before the orphanage found me. I can't throw off this sensation of feeling that I am supposed to be doing something right now, something important."

"You are doing something important," the man said comfortingly, clasping both her hands now, "You're coming up to New York, to meet my parents and become my wife," he kissed her hands, "Katrina, I know amnesia is hard, but I'll help you get through this. You're sweet and compassionate and I love you for it. Please, just try to calm down. Maybe for our honeymoon we can go searching for your past."

His fiancée smiled gratefully, "The one thing I do know, Erik," she said, "Is that you are just as sweet and kind. You've accepted and all my flaws."

"Your eye, it was hurting you before, is it alright?" he asked anxiously.

She nodded, "It's fine now," she said. Her mottled, scarred mess for a left eye had been a subject of embarrassment for her. However, Erik never cared about things like that, it was another reason she liked him so much.

_Wait…like?…don't I…love him?_

The rumble of thunder echoed over head, "Looks like a storm," Erik said as the rain came down, "We'll have to be careful around the canyon."

His fiancée nodded. She was sad to be leaving Colorado, but she was sure New York would be just as fun. New York had the stage as well, where she could dance to her heart's content.

It was actually at the Denver Academy for the Arts that she met Erik. She had been taken in by the kind ballet director and had taken a natural talent to dancing. Erik was introduced to her after one of her shows and they began seeing each other shortly afterwards.

The one thing that had plagued her throughout her life in Colorado was the fact that she could not remember any part of her life before the day she was found on the shores of California four years ago. She had been told that she was half-dead when they found her and that they could find no form of identity on her. She couldn't remember her name, where she came from, or what she was doing when she was attacked.

Her damaged eye was assumed to be a souvenir from whatever attacked her.

Without a name or a history, the people at the orphanage gave her the name 'Katrina' and she stayed there for several months until, one day, the leader of The Denver Academy of the Arts came upon her and saw her dancing. Even so, this little clue meant nothing other than that she might have been raised by a wealthy family. It gave no hint as to where she had lived, or how she could have come to the Americas. She was, after all, unmistakably East Asian.

The thunder cracked loudly overhead and, though it really wasn't visible in the pouring rain, Erik's fiancée could sense that they were traveling along the Grand Canyon. She also felt that she could here explosions, unrelated to the storm, deep among the chasm walls.

_Since when could I sense this?_

"Do you hear that?" she asked Erik, who looked at her, confused.

"Hear what? The thunder?"

She shook her head, "No, there's something else," she said, "I don't know why you can't here it. It's getting louder."

Erik shook his head, "It's probably the canyon," he said, "thunder can act a little strange around the walls."

She nodded, though not really agreeing with him, and continued to look out the window, watching the lightening patterns with loving adoration.

"They've always fascinated you, haven't they?" Erik said, smiling warmly.

She smiled too. It was true, she was fascinated by storms, the water, the wind, and the _lightening_. The power they held was just stunning, not to mention beyond beautiful.

_I wonder what it would be to wield even just a fraction of that power…_

_But you do…_

"Did you say something?"

Erik shook his head, "No…"

She blinked, then mentally shook herself, "I suppose I'm just tired," she said, turning back to the storm.

Then it happened.

A bolt of lightening struck right over the carriage and the couple was blown what felt like several feet into the air. The young couple hit the ground hard, both losing sight of their surroundings.

_Have you awoken?_

_I don't think so. I'm having this conversation in my head, aren't I?_

_Master, you have not regained yourself at all… it makes me sad._

_Who are you?_

_You already, but I shall refresh your memory._

_She was sitting in a room, the dining area of an inn of some sort it seemed. The room suddenly went dark as the lone candle was extinguished. She looked up sharply, her small, childish voice echoing through the darkness._

"_Mama?"_

"_Sweetheart…" the gentle voice of her mother came out of the suffocating blackness, "Sweetheart, we're never going to see him again. I realize it now, he's never going to come back, he's moved on. For all we know, he's probably abandoned your brothers as well._

"_Mama, where are you? Don't say that! Papa will come for us!"_

"_He won't find us, child, we already left that place without him, this must be revenge!"_

"_Mama! You're scaring me!"_

"_Do you want to go to a better place with mommy? A place where we'll never hurt again?"_

"_MAMA!"_

_STOP IT! I remember now._

_Master… will you rise again? Will you prove your existence once again to the world?_

_No._

_Master?_

_I will rise, but not to prove my existence. I will fight and protect my family, the ones unrelated by blood. I will fight for those who brought me out of that terrifying void, who taught me to live again, to display emotion while feeling it at the same time._

_I will fight for them until I'm torn to pieces._

_

* * *

_

When he had regained his senses, Erik looked around frantically for his lover.

"KATRINA!" he cried, seeing the girl lying on the ground. He hurried over to her and cradled her in his arms, "Oh, Katrina," he murmured, "Katrina, Katrina."

"'s…ai…t," she groaned

"Katrina?" Erik said hopefully.

"I said IT'S KAI, you idiot!" she shouted, shoving him off of her, "And don't get so close to me, it's creepy."

"K-Kai…?" Erik said weakly, the name awkward and foreign on his tongue. Where had his sweet, gentle, tender, not to mention ELOQUENT, Katrina gone?

She looked at him, annoyance plain on her face, "Stop staring and get up," she said tersely, "I don't have time for this."

"You've…regained your memories?" Erik said, standing shakily, "H-how…?"

"Lightening strike," she said shortly, "Brought back everything. Makes sense, though." She turned to him, "Look," she raised her bangs, which she typically kept over her left eye to hide the scar, "What do you see?"

The fog that had clouded her iris had faded, meaning she was no longer half-blind. The mass of scars was also gone, replaced by an ornate silver cross that shimmered in the pouring rain. It looked vaguely like the nativity star and joined seamlessly to her skin, "A…a cross…" he said.

"Black?" she asked hopefully.

He shook his head, "Silver," he said, "like a star. It's like it's a part of your face…" he added.

She was pensive for a moment, then shrugged, "Well, no matter, everything should work the same," she said, more to herself than to him, "Anyway," she slid the garnet engagement off of her finger, "Sorry, Richards, I can't get married right now."

He gaped at her as she placed the ring in his hand, "Why? I can learn to love you, Katrina, I can learn to love the real you!"

"Say Katrina again and I will rip your fucking manhood off," In all his time of knowing her, Erik Richards had never once heard his now former lover curse. She shook her head, then sighed, "It's not you," she continued, "I've got to get back to my home, where I really belong."

"W-where is that?" Erik asked, "Why can't you stay?"

"Because," she said, grinning proudly as the lightening continued to flash overhead, "I'm an exorcist."

* * *

"Ka-excuse me, Kai!" Erik called as she began walking away from him, "Come back to the carriage. We can build a shelter and get out of the rain. I know you need to get back to The Black Order, but right now we need to wait out this storm!"

Kai ignored him, gazing up at the falling water and closing her eyes. She concentrated and felt each and every drop of rain as it fell as well as where and what it fell on. She reached out with her consciousness, trying to locate the explosions from earlier.

They came to her, more amplified than before now that her innocence had fully reawakened.

_Akuma… but they aren't like ones I've fought before…they're stronger…more lethal than ever before._

She reached out further, making sure she was using her utmost concentration.

_Two groups. The smaller one is mostly akuma, with a human I don't recognize…and someone else…not entirely human, yet not entirely…akuma? She seems to be struggling against something while her companion is trying to fend off the akuma…he's not an exorcist, though, but I can feel it…he's part of the order._

_The other group is much larger, no, only by a bit…it's mostly ruins…there only seems to be one akuma…but it's as if it's human at the same time…and Reever, Johnny, Branch Chief Bak, Branch Chief Epstein, that old sword-smith Zhu, and some other scientists and a man I don't know, but he's got the air of someone high up in The Order…_

Before moving on, it should be known to the reader that Kai cannot actually see these people. The rain falling down on them sends a signal that carries every detail of what it hits, including aura, emotions, and level of power. She was able to recognize people she'd met before as well as the common aura the scientists, as well as the other kind of aura that belonged to superior officers, often exuded.

_There are others, strange people I don't recognize. The power and malice they exude is beyond even that of the strange akuma. One is not even in a human form, it's some sort of soft material, almost like a plush doll, but it's definitely dangerous all the same. One of them is combating Fou, an aura I know very well. Though I wonder why the spirit guardian is there. Another one of the strange people is crumpled on the ground, some sort of blade wound in his abdomen._

Then came the aura Kai knew better than any of the others. Her comrade in arms and fellow student was there as well. He didn't seem too bad off in the way of injuries, but he was certainly exhausted and, from his emotional levels, in some sort of shock. Emotions were running high with all of them, in fact, though Kai could understand why.

_This sinister presence…_

"Shit."

Kai didn't have to have met him to understand that the Millennium Earl was among them.

* * *

**Review if you feel like it!**

***Kami- as in the numerous gods that exist in the Shinto religion. They are often said to care for the island nation of Japan if I remember rightly.**

****Karma- the Buddhist force that governs what happens in your life based on your actions. Bad actions bring you bad Karma, good actions bring good Karma.**

**Yes, I realize I sort of combined two religions at once...-shrugs-**


	2. Raging Thunder

**AN: Yayz, chapter two! enjoy, review if you feel like it. There's actually fighting in this chapter...though kinda brief...READ ON! I mean...PLEASE READ ON!**

**Enjoy!**

**~Raging Thunder~**

Why didn't it come?

He was sure he'd heard the blast go off…

…so why wasn't he dead?

He opened his eyes warily, then blinked in surprise at the figure standing in front of him. A young woman, probably around his age, was before him, drenched in the pouring rain as if she'd already been standing in it for quite some time.

A familiar sensation washed over him like a wave of recognition. This woman possessed a fragment of innocence. Still, this particular piece he thought he knew very well, but it was impossible for it to be before him now.

That fragment was gone, gone with it's accommodator.

Dead.

Exhaustion overcame him and he fell to the ground, Mugen still in his grip. Just before his vision faded, he saw the figure turn around sharply, the sound of his name falling distantly on his ears.

_Is it…?_

_No, that's impossible._

_That fragment…that piece…_

_Is dead._

Kai knelt beside Kanda's fallen form, completing forgetting the akuma she had just defended him from, who had fallen unconscious after she deflected the blast.. The electrostatic charge was not unlike part of her own power, so all she needed to do was use a same-size explosion. It worked, not to mention it was much easier than from when she was younger. Those days, she would have fainted from the energy it took, but now, she barely felt a thing.

She felt Kanda's forehead, noting a rapidly increasing fever and the cold sweat he had broken into. She removed her white button-down, now soaked through with cold rain water, and tore it into strips, using them to bind his head and hopefully counterbalance the fever.

"Quite liberal, aren't you, miss?" Kai narrowly dodged a blow from one of the strange people. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, with long dark hair and crosses embedded in his forehead as well as one in his neck. He was unmistakably European, so Kai could understand his comment upon her attire, which now only consisted of her black riding pants and boots, plus the strips of white fabric with which she bound her chest.

She smirked at him, "We Asians don't exactly think along the same lines as you westerners," she said, "We dress for convenience, not to impress."

"Well let's see if you can match us in combat, milady exorcist," he said in mock politeness, "In the spirit of good conduct, let us introduce ourselves. I am the Noah of Pleasure, Tyki Mikk."

"Kirihara Kaida," Kai said with a nod of acknowledgement, "More commonly known as Kai, and an exorcist under General Frois Tiedoll of The Black Order."

"W-watch out for him, Kai," Kai turned to see Fou staggering toward her, "He's good, he can pass through and reject every type of matter except innocence. He's also really fast and uses long-range blasts."

She nodded, "Stay with Kanda, will you?" she said, "try to get him somewhere dry if you can. We'll save questions for later."

Fou nodded and Kai turned back to face her opponent, "I believe you're a bit at a disadvantage," she said, "I know your power, but you don't know mine."

"I don't think it'll make a difference," he said, "Shall we, dance, Miss Kirihara?"

"What and ironic choice of words," she replied with a mischievous smile.

He lunged first, swiping at her with his arm, which she noticed was emitting a static charge. She smiled, taking a running start and leaping into the air, spinning forward with her right leg perfectly straight in the air. A large wheel of silver lightening rolled off the limb and the man called Mikk was just barely able to dodge.

"Not yet!" she cried, flicking her wrist in a sharp circular motion. A miniature cyclone launched itself at the man, slamming him against one of the still-erect walls of the decimated building. He let out a groan as he fell, coughing up blood from the force of the blow.

"I underestimated you," he said, smiling painfully.

"A mistake you won't make again," Kai assured him, taking her chance to launch another shot of lightening, this time from her hand, at Mikk. He dodged, and it was her turn to curse. She may have grazed him, but the bastard was tough.

A tiny sense of movement flickered in her mind, like a warning, but she ignored it, assuming that it was just a rock or some small canyon rodent. She lunged at the man again, this time keeping the lightening on her hand and wrist. He was too fast for her, she'd need to use her short-range attacks to take him down. She used the wind to propel herself forward, thereby speeding her progress, and swiped at him. He jumped away, grinning triumphantly, but his smile faltered when he saw the smirk on her face. She snapped her fingers and he screamed in pain as the lightening shot up his entire body.

She took the opportunity to catch her breath, but it was a mistake. Her stationary position left her vulnerable to the attack she'd sensed too late. The crumpled boy she had noticed when she arrived was on his knees, his hand in the form a giant claw, looking as though he'd just made a move.

Which he had.

Kai gritted her teeth in pain, the blood she'd coughed up streaking down her chin. She fell to the ground as gashes were laid open upon her back. She glared at the boy.

"Who…the hell…?" she hissed, clutching her shoulder as the pain in her back redoubled. She checked herself a moment later. The sensation burning white-hot in the wounds on her skin… it couldn't be.

"I-innocence?" she gasped, craning her neck to get a better look at the boy. He stood over her, looking down at her in disdain.

"I will not allow you to hurt one of my kin," he said, then turned to the man, "Get up," he told him, "there's no more business to attend to here."

Kai watched in confused amazement as he strode up to the earl, "Keep your promise to my host," he said, "His resistance is troublesome."

Tears of happiness streamed down the earls face. He sniffed joyfully, "As you wish, my dear brother 3."

"WAIT!" Kai called, "WHO, no, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?"

He looked back at gave her what looked like a pitiful smile. Kai glared at him, it was look she hated getting most from people, "You should focus on helping your comrades," he said, "and not me." He looked up at the sky, "You can wield the essential elements of a storm, that is quite the power you have. Use it to your benefit."

Although she certainly wasn't one to listen to an enemy, Kai had to admit he was right. She stayed still, concentrating on the falling water, on the lives of her comrades. The strange monsters she had felt faded into humans and the akuma disappeared. Even the strange akuma she had first come into contact with became human. She opened her eyes again to find that the boy, the earl, and the strange super-humans were gone.

She pushed herself up, grunting in pain as the cuts on her back began to burn again. Fresh blood oozed down her skin, warm and sticky, as she trudged shakily over to the former akuma. Fou had taken the opportunity in the commotion to move Kanda to a safer place. Kai could feel them near Zhu and Epstein.

He looked up at her bitterly, "Come to kill me?" he demanded, "Now that I can't fight, or are you here to drag me back to the order for further hellish experimentation?"

Kai noted the harshness with which he spoke. She crossed her arms, "look, I don't know who you are or what's gone on in your life, but don't talk to me like you've suffered beyond anything I could hope to imagine."

He blinked, "Do you honestly think you're life's been worse than mine?" he asked incredulously, "Not only was I just an experimental body designed to create an artificial exorcist and subjected to horrible experimentation, but I was almost killed by my best friend and then kept in a tank for nine years for MORE experimentation."

To his surprise and indignation, she laughed, a harsh, mirthless laugh, "You're lucky," she finally said, looking down at him, "Trust me, being a normal human isn't as great as it sounds." She sighed, then held her hand out to him, "look, we can go back and forth with this or we can start over. I'm Kai, what's your name?"

He looked at her suspiciously, then gave in and took her hand, "Alma," he said, allowing her to help him to his feet. He saw her wince with the effort and sighed, "You're worse off than you're making out," he said.

A pink tinge spread across her cheeks and she turned her head away from him, "I'm fine," she said stubbornly.

"Right," Alma replied noncommittally, "So how do we find the others?"

"First," Kai picked up a coat from the shattered remains of some random scientist and thrust it at him, "This is getting awkward, even for me, and I have brothers, put that on."

Alma blinked then looked down at himself only to find himself stark naked, "Oh my," he said, blushing, "No kidding," he put the coat on, "I'm sorry…though I thought I felt colder than usual."

Kai shook her head in mild amusement, "Anyway," she said, "to answer your earlier question," She pointed at the still pouring rain, "That's how, I can locate them with my innocence."

"I see," Alma said, "Well I guess we should start walking."

"Wow, so you and Kanda were both used for these experiments," Kai said, somewhat disturbed that The Order would go so far, "And Kanda ended up the only exorcist?"

Alma nodded, "That's sort of what brought this all about," he said, "Don't worry, though, I won't try to kill Yu. I'll just have to let things play out, I guess."

"I'd certainly hoped you wouldn't try that again," Kai replied absently, looking down at the ground. Alma followed her gaze at saw it land upon a discarded arm.

"It's Yu's," Alma said, "Don't worry, though, with his powers, I'm sure his new one is fully functional."

Kai picked up the limb and removed the bracelet from its wrist, "I wasn't really paying attention to the arm," she said, "I gave this to Kanda years ago." It was around the time she had first come to the order. Kanda had only been there a year at the time and Kai remembered walking through the hall to find Kanda sitting on a windowsill, looking rather depressed. Kai had always found him to be a wet blanket from the moment she met him.

"_What's wrong with you?" she asked, making him jump since he hadn't sensed her._

"_What do you want, Kirihara?" he demanded sullenly._

"_To know why you're always so depressed," she said bluntly, "Honestly, it's annoying."_

_He glared at her, "It's none of your business," he said._

"_I think it is," Kai protested, getting up on the windowsill and sitting across from him, "We're friends, aren't we?"_

_He scowled at that, "I don't need friends," he snapped bitterly._

"_Fine," Kai said, "But you do need this," she held out the bracelet her mother had given her when she was much younger, "A charm."_

_He raised an eyebrow, "I don't need luck either," he growled._

_She giggled, "It's not for that," she said, smiling warmly, "You can put all your feelings into it, all you thoughts and any sadness you might be feeling. Trust me, it's better than keeping it bottled up. Even though you can't talk to anyone, you can always tell the charm."_

"_That's stupid."_

"_Maybe, but some stupid things can be extremely helpful," she said, leaping off the sill, "Like how biting your nails can help you stop being nervous."_

_And she walked away, leaving him to ponder what she'd said._

"Kai?" She blinked, then shook her head, smiling reassuringly at Alma, who had broken her out of her thoughts.

"It's nothing," she said, "Let's get going before the rain lets up," she said.


	3. An Unfortunate Reunion

**AN: Thank you so much for your support! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Reviews are welcome and you are more that free to choose whether you want to or not ^w^**

**Enjoy!**

**~An Unfortunate Reunion~**

"Kanda, are you awake?"

Kanda opened his eyes blearily to see Zhu looking over him. He groaned as he sat up. He was sore everywhere and his head was throbbing. He was also freezing and, consequently, started shivering violently.

"Here," Reni draped a coat over his shoulders, "Fou brought you here and said you had a fever. Are you alright?"

Kanda gritted his teeth to stop them chattering, nodding stiffly, "Mo-Moyashi," he said, "H-he…I-I…"

"It's alright, Yu," Zhu said, putting his hand on Kanda's shoulder, "It's alright, it's not your fault."

"Calm down, Kanda, the kid lived just fine," Kanda looked up to see the last person he expected the be there come around the rubble.

"K-Kai?" he gasped, his voice shuddering from his fever. She nodded curtly, then turned away, but Kanda could tell.

"A-are you angry?" he said, still shivering.

"No shit," Kai said, tossing something into his lap, "You dropped that."

Kanda looked down to see the bracelet she had given him so long ago. He flushed, "T-Thanks," he said, slipping it onto his wrist, "You were right, you know, it did help." He'd learned from experience that, at least in the case of Lenalee and General Claude's formerly-all-female group, it was best to make-up to and compliment women when they were upset. Tiedoll had told him that on numerous occasions as well.

"Don't worry about the fever, it's just a side-effect of over-using your regenerative abilities," Alma also poked his head from around the debris. He smiled at him apologetically, "Hi, Yu."

"You're not an akuma anymore…" Kanda said, "What happened?"

"It's complicated," he started evasively, "y'see…"

"That guy," Kai interjected sharply, impatience rife upon her words, "Said something about a deal his 'host' or something had made with the earl. I can sense it. All the akuma have withdrawn and those weird things have, I will assume returned, to being human once more. They left afterward."

"What?" Epstein cried, "He left? Just like that? With the Noah and the earl?"

Kai nodded, "By Noah, I'll assume you mean those super-human bastards," she said, "And don't worry," she added sardonically, bringing a hand to her back and withdrawing it again, displaying the blood that was still oozing from the half-closed injuries, "he left a lovely parting gift."

All except Alma, who had witnessed the attack, gaped in amazement, "Kai, he was an exorcist!" Epstein said, "Why didn't you stop him?"

"Excuse me for being immobile at the time thanks to his attack," she snapped, "besides, your lives seemed a bit more important at the time."

Zhu placed an hand on her shoulder, "Calm down Reni," he said, "This was a lost cause from the beginning."

"Hey," Alma looked pointedly at Epstein, "aside from the fact that that guy's gone, I have to ask, what are you going to do with me from now on? I attacked you yes, but I'll tell you honestly that all that desire to let out my anger is gone, so I guess it was the dark matter's influence. Anyway, are you going to drag me back to experimentation?"

"They better fucking not," Kanda growled. Alma looked down at him in shock.

"Yu…" he said.

Kanda averted his gaze, "I won't fucking let them," he said, emphatically enough that he collapsed into a fit of coughing. He jerked his head up again to see Kai stalking off, "Where are you…?"

"Where else, moron?" she said icily, "To find Reever and Johnny and the other people who are still alive!"

Within about an hour, everyone, including a blond guy with a half-braid and a girl with wavy blonde hair, was gathered in the same place as Zhu, Epstein, Fou, Kanda, and Alma. They all sat around, catching their breath and attempting to cope with the situation while Kai leaned up against the ruined wall that shielded them from the wind that had picked up, glaring out over the mountains of debris and carnage.

"Well, the one bright side to all this," Reever said, "Is that Kai is back with us," she looked over at him, her expression relaxing to one of neutrality, and nodded, "and it seems like you're powers have strengthened."

She nodded, "It's like it evolved," she said, bringing a hand up to her covered eye, "Can the innocence really do that?"

"Yes, it's happened two times already," the man called Rouvelier said, "The first was with Allen Walker, who it seems has deserted us. The other was with Lenalee Lee."

"Inspector," Bak reproached, "Allen himself did not desert us. From the sound of it, the fourteenth's personality came out and took him over."

"Like it matters," the inspector began, but Kai interrupted him.

"This Allen kid sounds like a pretty decent and loyal person," she said flatly, "From what I've heard everyone say about him, it doesn't seem like he'd abandon you all willingly. Plus, the personality description was certainly different from the one I witnessed from this guy. If my opinion is worth anything to you, inspector, it would be that I am in full agreement with branch head Bak."

The inspector glared at her, "Where I will admit you have a point, Miss Kirihara," he said, "I would like to remind you that an exorcist's job is to fight for the order and to protect and collect innocence fragments. It is not, on the other hand, your duty to participate in affairs that are not related to you."

Kai literally bit her tongue to stall the retort she longed to give, she contented herself with sharply looking way, whispering a venomous, "Asshole." She knew better than to tempt fate and get into trouble before even setting foot back in headquarters, so she kept silent and did NOT beat the bastard into a bloody pulp. Besides, she'd been brought up better than that.

"How can you say that?" Alma demanded angrily, "She stood up for a comrade she didn't even know! Heck, if this is how you treat your legitimate accommodators, I'm GLAD I didn't become an exorcist!"

"Alma, as much as it pains me to tell you you're wrong," Zhu said, "You were using the innocence in your fight with Yu. With a little training, you'll be out fighting in the field soon enough. Look, it even looks like you're an equipment type too."

Sure enough, on Alma's wrists hung two black metal bands, glinting in the way only innocence would. He flushed, "Still," he said, "it's wrong to treat your subordinates like tools. I mean-"

"_That's enough, Alma,_" Kai said, "_I don't need your help._"

"What?" Alma asked, confused and unable to understand her, "What language is that?"

"Japanese," Kanda said, "Kai tends to flip back to her native tongue when she's really pissed. I'll tell you now, Alma, that when she starts speaking that way, she's at her most dangerous, so it's always best to run."

"Damare, konoyarou," Kai snapped at him, "_I'm pissed at you too._"

Kanda swallowed thickly. _Fuck._

Kanda wasn't particularly afraid of anything. Whenever Komui went on a violent, over-protective tirade or whenever Lenalee got pissed or even whenever he began to lose a battle, he didn't get scared, no, fear was something for the weak. No, Kanda got pissed off, which generally led to Komui suffering bodily harm, generally ignoring Lenalee, and generally him actually making a comeback and winning the fight. Yes, it was safe to say that fear was not a motion Kanda really felt.

That was unless he faced a certain woman's wrath.

Kai had spent the first seven years of her childhood in Japan. She hadn't been poor, no, certainly not that. Her father was a military strategist who had been forced to retire when he'd been blinded in one eye by a stray bullet during a training session. Still, because he'd worked directly under the emperor as one of his best strategists, Kai's family was among those better off than most of the inhabitants of Japan. Still, that didn't change the fact that she'd been born into a place where akuma waited around every turn. Add the fact that she'd been born in the capital, and you also got robbers and beggars desperate enough that they would kill for the slightest promise of food.

Because she had been brought up in this environment, Kai had become an excellent fighter. She was extremely flexible and, before she'd acquired her innocence, she'd been taught to disarm or even kill her opponents by taking them down from the inside. She was a master of using the body's pressure points to her advantage.

Kanda had experienced this first hand and had ended up in more pain from it than he'd ever have liked to admit. Kai had often sought him out of as a punching-bag for her anger and frustrations (generally because he was the one who tended to shove her over the edge) and this was the precise reason he did not listen to Kai's comment unfazed.

_Kill me._

"Anyway," Reever said, attempting to break the tension. He too knew it was a bad idea to cross Kai, "We can't trust the Ark at this point," he said, "and we need to get back to headquarters. We can't afford to get treated at a local hospital since we need to inform Chief Komui and the Vatican about all this, so we'll have travel with our injuries." He turned to Kanda, "Are you okay to move?" he asked.

He nodded, standing shakily, "I agree that we need to get back," he looked over at Kai, who glared back, "We need to get Kai and Alma to the Order as quickly as possible. The more people we have to fight, the better."

* * *

**Rather short, but I promise next one will be longer ^_^**


	4. Femme Fatale or The Fatal Strike

**AN: Hello there! I forgot to mention something in the last chapter. If you see anyone speaking and the words are italicized, it means they're speaking with their native tongue. For instance, if Miranda is speaking and it's italicized, she's speaking in German.**

**And in respons to Soulless Ghosty's review on chapter 3, I can do a chapter a day right now because I write the first few chapters of my stories before posting them so I can go back a reread and make sure it won't turn into complete crap. It also gives me a chance to firmly choose a plot direction and get all Canon and Original characters set and make sure the Canons are OOC and the OCs are getting to Sue-ish.**

**I hope that explains things a bit. However, don't get used to it, I'm flying to Japan in a week and I'll be there for school, so my internet access will be limited to once or twice a week.**

**Enjoy! I couldn't decide which chapter name I liked better, so I put them both in ^_^**

**~Femme Fatale **or **The Fatal Strike~**

It took them about ten days to get back to England and Kai watched in rather pained amusement as she and Alma went through being instated (or in her case, reinstated) as exorcists.

The first hurdle was obviously Komui. He absolutely refused to let Kai get her innocence inspected first, insisting on torturing the poor newbie. He sat Alma in his examination chair, while Kai leaned against the wall and waited her turn, and grinned down at his pitiful victim.

"So," he said joyfully, "You're an equipment-type just like Kanda!" he brought out his super-heavy-duty-laser-drill, "LET'S TEST THOSE PUPPIES OUT!"

The poor boy's screams could be heard in every corner of the Order.

"And so it begins," they all said in unison, each and every inhabitant grimacing sympathetically.

"Alma…are you alright?" Kai asked hesitantly, taking her seat in the now entitled Death Chair (Alma had called it that whilst sobbing and hugging Kai around the legs). He was currently in a huddled heap on the floor, but when he saw her sit down, he cried out in horror.

"HAVE YOU NO MERCY?" he cried, "SHE ALREADY WENT THROUGH THIS ONCE, DIDN'T SHE?"

Komui chuckled, "Yes, Alma," he said, digging among his various…ahem…'tools'. To Alma's shocked amazement, he pulled out a strange piece of headgear set with all sorts of magnifying lenses. He then moved the chair into a reclined position so Kai was lying down and pinned her bangs behind her ear, "Kai-chan, can you open and close your eyes for me?" he said, sounding more physician-like than demonic.

She complied, opening and closing her eye-lids while the scientist examined the cross on her face. When he was done, he brought her back into a sitting position, "Any numbness or trouble seeing?" he asked as she hopped out of the chair.

"I was exhausted after I first used it," she said, "But I suppose that's normal."

Komui nodded, "Now, let's hurry along to the next phase!" he said, ushering them out of the exam room. Alma gaped at Kai.

"Why didn't he torture you?" he demanded.

"He did the first time I joined," she replied with a weary smile, "But, since my innocence has evolved, there's no need to go through that again. Consider this whole thing initiation if nothing else."

"Well what's the next part?" Alma asked as they rode the elevator down into a dark cavern. They stepped out onto a platform and Kai pointed upwards. Alma followed the line and went pale.

"What…the…GYAH!" he cried out and scrambled violently as the large, ghost-like creature picked him up around waste and began probing inside of him. He twisted and craned his neck to once again gape as Komui and Kai watched, obviously unconcerned with his predicament.

"20 percent… 57 percent…96 percent…" she, for he realized that it was indeed a she, put him back on the ground, "Your highest synchronization rate is ninety-six percent," she said, "Forgive me, I was only inspecting your innocence, though it is normal to be scared. My name is Hevlaska and this is my job as an exorcist."

Alma twitched, looking daggers at Komui, who grinned.

"Standard procedure," he said joyfully.

"TELL ME THAT FIRST!" he shouted, then turned to watch as Kai, unsurprisingly calm, stood still as Hevlaska probed her eye.

"100 percent," she said, satisfied, "Just like Lenalee and Allen, Komui."

Komui nodded, "It seems that one evolution is necessary," he said, "For the accommodator to hit 100 percent synchronization. This is good information." He turned back to them, "Go get checked out in the infirmary," he said, "A finder will be waiting to guide you."

Alma was not enjoying himself in the slightest, "When can I leave?" he asked as he trudged down the hall with Kai.

"When the war's over," she replied unsympathetically, "Until then, you're stuck."

He straightened up, "That reminds me," he said, lowering his voice so the finder couldn't hear him, "You said your life before the order was worse than mine, what on earth did you mean?"

Kai looked at him skeptically, "Not now," she whispered back, "When we can have some privacy, I'll tell you. The only people who really know about my past are Kanda, Marie, General Tiedoll, Komui, Reever, and the Head Nurse. The others assume I'm just a kid who lost her parents to akuma, found to possess innocence, and then taken in by the order, a pretty uncommon story for this place. I don't like talking about it, but since you're Kanda's friend, I guess I can trust you."

Alma nodded, "Alright," they entered the men's ward to find Kanda asleep along with the others who had been injured. The head nurse looked up from her clipboard and smiled when she saw Kai.

"Ah, there's my little kitten," she said. Kai blushed, slightly embarrassed by the old nickname, "I'm so glad you're alive." She hugged her, then looked her up and down, "You look just fine," she said, "You're free to go. As for you," she looked pointedly at Alma, "Bed. Now. The one next to Kanda."

Alma blinked, "But I feel fine!" he protested. Kai grimaced.

"Bad move," she said, averting her eyes as the head nurse's demonic aura sprang up.

"Oh really?" she demanded eerily, "Are you really going to argue with a trained professional?"

The next second, Alma was in the previously designated bed.

He really, REALLY, didn't like the Order at all.

Lavi's group, having been located in China, was the last to return to headquarters. The news of Allen had indeed shocked and devastated him, but he was careful not to let Bookman see. After all, he didn't need friends, or a heart for that matter.

His depression was momentarily forgotten, however, when he saw an unfamiliar person talking with Kanda as they walked down the hall together. An unfamiliar, female person. An unfamiliar, female, and _very pretty_ person. He could tell from her high-set cheekbones and slanted eyes that she was Japanese like her conversation partner. Her black hair, which he estimated would fall just short of her hips, was currently swept up into a high ponytail, her bangs swept over her left eye. On the subject of her eyes, Lavi was happy to see that they were green like his own, although somewhat darker.

Her uniform was fitted to her body, just like every female exorcist's, and nicely accentuated her long torso and long, agile limbs. Though she had the build of a dancer, Lavi could tell from her overall bearing and the toned areas on her body that she was an experienced fighter, perhaps with somewhat of a militaristic upbringing. All the same, her jacket gripped her feminine physique so attractively, the black shorts of her uniform graced her thighs so temptingly, her knee-high boots hugged her calves so beautifully, and the red scarf, serving as a decorative belt, brushed against her left leg in such a tantalizing fashion, that it was too much for Lavi to bear.

"STRIKE!" he cried, dashing over to this pretty young woman. However, a hand was around his throat before he fully made it to his destination. He realized with a jolt of fear that is was the girl's. She gave him a glare that almost Kanda-worthy.

"Touch me," she said icily, "And it will be a sorry day for your crotch," she released him, allowing him to fall to the floor in a frightened heap.

"Now I know it's good that you came back," Kanda said, smirking down at the redhead, "Someone has to keep the stupid rabbit in line."

She laughed, "So this is the Lavi I've heard so much about?" she asked, looking down at him with a sinister smile, "I'm not as sweet as I look, bunny-boy," she said.

Lavi decided, right then and there, that he did not like this girl. She was too scary and intimidating for his liking. He swallowed thickly, getting to his feet and sprinting off to hide behind Bookman, who didn't even bother to ask about his strange behavior (He was too used to it by now).

He watched nervously as Marie went forward, a broad grin on his face, and swept her into a hug.

"It's good to see you're alive, Kai," he said warmly. Lavi, who was more impressed that Marie was still alive after he HUGGED her, gaped in astonishment as an equally warm smile crossed her lips.

"I missed you too, Marie," she said.

"What happened? We thought you were dead?" he said.

"I was just telling Kanda, actually," she replied, "In short, my team was ambushed by a horde of level 2 akuma and I was basically thrown into a river and left for dead. I lost my memories for the next four years, regained them, and now here I am!"

He clapped her on the shoulder, "Well you're here now and that's all that matters."

"YU! KAI!" Lavi watched as a boy who looked to be around Allen's age came sprinting down the hall. He then gaped as he launched and landed Kanda, KANDA, in a loose headlock, ruffling the Japanese teen's hair with his fist, "Finally outta the infirmary, are ya?"

"Alma…" Kanda groaned. Lavi noted the surprising lack of irritation in his voice.

"Hey," Lavi said, crossing his arms, "How come he gets to call you Yu and I get punched every time I do?" he demanded.

"Yu an' I have been best friends for ages!" the boy cried, "That's why!"

Kanda sighed, "Alma, don't you have to get your general assignment?" he asked, shoving him off.

"I did," he said happily, "General Tiedoll, actually. They figured it'd be best if we were in the same group. How funny is that, huh? Anyway," his grin faded as he turned to the girl called Kai, "You said when we got time we would talk about…uh…that…right?"

She nodded, "Kanda, if you and Marie feel up to hearing that story again, feel free t-"

"MY DAUGHTER!" Out of the blue, and sobbing uncontrollably, came General Tiedoll, pulling Kai into a suffocating hug.

"M-Master," she gasped, "C-can't breathe!"

"General!" Kanda said sharply, "Don't kill her! She just got back!"

"I get it," Tiedoll sobbed, "I-I'm just s-so happy!"

"This is General Tiedoll?" Lavi heard the one called Alma whisper to Kanda, who nodded.

"Unfortunately," he whispered back.

* * *

**Again, another short one. I'm sorry, THIS TIME I promise the next chapter will be longer! **

**Reviews are greatly appreciated! You will not be penalized if you do, however...I'll send a hit-man to do the job ^ ^**


	5. Past and Pain

**AN: Enjoy! Listen, I'm in a hurry to put up what chapters I have finished because I leave for California tomorrow, where I will no internet. I then depart for Japan on Wednesday, where I will have internet only once or twice a week and, since I will be in school, very limited writing time. Because of this, I will apologize for the lack of proofreading I have done and any mistakes that have about as a result.**

**Anyways, ENJOY!**

**~Past and Pain~**

"So, you're telling Alma, now?" Kanda asked, sitting down on the couch. The library was deserted right now as everyone was either at dinner or greeting the group that had returned from China. Marie and the General had declined listening to the story. Once had been enough.

Kai nodded, "Yes, he's part of our group now," she said, "And since I'm finally included in your inner circle," here her voice darkened as she glared at Kanda, who grimaced, "he should be included in mine."

"Let's just get started," Alma said, not really like the tension that had sprung up.

"I'm putting my foot down."

The four of them looked up, confused, "What are you talking about, dear?" his wife asked.

General Kirihara Ihika sat down at the table, "I'm taking you, Sayuri, and you, Renji, Senri, Kaida, out of here. We're going to leave Japan."

Sayuri looked at him incredulously, "That's impossible," she said, "You know how tightly the emperor secures the country!"

"Mother's right," Renji said.

"There's no way," Senri added.

"Maybe there is," the three of them looked at the youngest of their number. They knew the little Kaida had inherited her father's brains, but they were at a loss as to how she could possibly see a way out.

"Daddy knows how the security works, right?" she continued, "So he'd be able to find the best way out!"

Ihika placed a loving hand on his daughter's head, "That's my girl," he said proudly, "That's right, but there's other preparations to be done before I can get us all out. I'll take Renji and Senri out first and get jobs for us on the outside. Then, when I have enough money, I'll come back and smuggle you and Kaida out."

Sayuri began to cry, "Don't separate our family, Ihika!" she begged, "We can stay here, it'll be fine!"

He shook his head, "It's bad enough that robbers and beggars plague this country," he said, "but with all the monsters swarming around, there's no way I can let my family live in such danger." He cupped her cheek in his hand, brushing a tear from her lashes, "I'll be back before two years are up," he said, "I promise."

Two years passed, then turned into three. With absolutely no word from her husband, Sayuri made up her mind, "We're leaving, Kai," she said, taking the seven-year-old by the hand, "I've already arranged for passage to China."

"But what about papa?" Kai protested.

"We haven't heard anything, sweetheart," her mother replied, "He's… I don't think he's coming back."

And so, reluctantly, she'd left with her mother. Sayuri had always had a natural talent for dancing and it was unsurprising when she was hired by the London Academy of Dance. Kai was taken on as an apprentice while her mother quickly rose to become one of the principals.

However, as time wore on, Sayuri's health deteriorated as she fell into depression and she had to retire only a year and half after her time on the stage began. Kai could only watch as her mother destroyed herself that night.

Alma gaped at her, "That's awful," he said. Kanda, who had heard this story in bits and pieces, was impressed by Kai' ability to get through the entire thing without breaking down like she used to.

Kai shook her head, a pained smile on her lips, "Yes, but the worst part is that I doubt my father even cared. He took my brothers and left my mother behind, not even bothering to send a letter." She sighed, "Anyway, after my mother died, I took to wandering the city after practice. My favorite time was during thunderstorms, which had always been my mother's favorite type of weather."

"Makes a lot of sense now," Kanda said, "Especially with your innocence being the way it is."

Kai nodded, "Well I got the mark from being struck by lightening," she said. Seeing Alma's confused expression, she continued, "On one of my wanderings, it started raining, so I ducked into an alley. I was a little too late, however, and when I awoke, it was to see Tiedoll standing over me with an umbrella. He told me all about becoming an exorcist and I left with him that night. I know it was harsh to leave without a goodbye, but I couldn't being myself to do it."

"Well, you're hear now, with a new family," Alma said warmly, "That's what counts."

Kai smiled gratefully, "So…well, it may not have been worse than torturous experimentation, but I'd say it's pretty on par."

Alma nodded, "Emotional pain is just as bad as physical pain," he said.

"Oftentimes even worse," Kanda added, groaning as he stood up, "Damn it, Kai," he said, "You were not gentle yesterday."

"That's what you get for keeping something like that from me," Kai replied, smiling unsympathetically, "Temporary paralyses from the waist down. It wore off after a couple hours, so stop whining."

Alma laughed, "I'm making a mental note, right here and now, not to make you angry."

"Harder than it looks," Bak said as he walked in, "Women aren't easy to handle."

Kai laughed, "I'm pretty low-maintenance," she said, "Anyway, what brings you here?"

"The situation with Walker," he said, "All the staff are being informed right now. We got lucky enough when we returned and every passage of the Ark had disappeared. However, we don't know if this was because of Allen's becoming the fourteenth or if it's because…"

"They did on purpose," Kai concluded, "Trying to lull us into a false sense of security."

"Exactly," Bak said, "We have our guard up, and we have made a note to always keep a team of exorcists in headquarters. We can't afford to lose this place. As for innocence fragments, we're sending the generals out again, while the rest of you hunt down for the other fragments. Alma, you will be traveling with General Tiedoll in order to become and exorcist yourself. Timothy, of course, will travel with General Claude. They will stop back here every so often to check in."

"Wouldn't it be better to send at least one experienced exorcist with them?" Kanda asked, "We can't afford to lose the generals."

"No, this is better," Kai said, "My… father," here a note of anger crept into her voice, though she quickly expunged it, "was often presented with ways to handle assassinations or how to protect traveling nobles and whatnot. He always sent the smallest, though also strongest groups, for these missions. Small groups are less noticeable and less likely to be attacked as a result. A large group in this case would make it hard to evade the Noah and subsequently be destroyed."

"I hate you for being smart," Kanda said, crossing his arms.

"She's right, Kanda," Bak said, "this is, unfortunately, the best way to handle things. I'm sorry to be separating you from Alma just after you two reunited, but he'll be sent back once his training is far enough along to allow him to go on missions with the rest of you."

"Yeah, don't miss me too much, buddy," Alma said, clapping him on the shoulder and making him groan in pain again. Kai had also deactivated the nerves in his arms and shoulders during their fight the other day.

Alma and Tiedoll set out with Timothy and the other Generals a few days later. Meanwhile, Kai got reacquainted with her old friends and was introduced to exorcists who had arrived after her disappearance. Lenalee had shed some not unexpected tears and that was pretty much the end of that.

Kai spent her pretty ample amounts of free time in the training grounds, practicing with her newly evolved innocence. She had come to find that each element was used for something different. With water, she could feel anything that was touching it within a certain radius. With wind, she could push objects away and propel herself and amazing speeds. She could not levitate, but she could slow her falls considerably. Finally, with lightening, she could pretty much destroy any target and emit the power from anywhere on her body.

Kanda found himself walking up the stairs when he suddenly heard muffled piano music coming from the White Garden. The uppermost floor of headquarters was devoted to this wondrous maze of silver gates and glass figures, low white marble walls and white stone walkways, not to mention the brilliant array white flowers. Kanda suddenly remembered that there was indeed a player-piano hidden within the labyrinth, but, as he rarely ventured into this wintery wonderland, he'd momentarily forgotten that fact. All the same, he went to investigate

It was in this beautiful matrix that he saw Kai. That, in itself, wasn't in the least surprising. Kanda knew she had a love for these kinds of places, despite her rather coarse and boyish exterior, she was just as vulnerable as the glass sculptures in the garden. No, the surprise for Kanda was that she was…dancing, DANCING, the one thing he'd never thought he'd actually see her do. He knew she'd spent time training in ballet, but it hadn't really registered it until now.

_She's…really good._

The young man was hypnotized by the fluidity and grace with which she was moving and he was amazed that she could remained perfectly balanced on the toes on her shoes. She moved in perfect time to the music, executing her jumps and spins with expert timing. Something told him that she'd kept up with this art even after joining The Order. She was simply too good to have stopped training at all.

Kanda suddenly realized that he was staring. He shook his head to clear his mind and walked quietly toward her.

Her eyes were closed and she was so absorbed in the music that Kanda wasn't surprised at her failure to notice him, even though he was right on the edge of the large, open pavilion where she was dancing. He leaned against a pillar and continued to watch. For some unidentified reason, this, strange, yet beautiful scene interested him.

She completed her dance and nearly jumped out of her skin when Kanda spoke.

"So you do have a feminine side," he said with a smirk, walking down into the pavilion, the floor of which was sunken into the ground.

She blushed, sitting down and removing the strange shoes she'd been dancing in. They were black and were fixed to her ankles by a pair of broad ribbons she was currently unwinding. They looked rather flimsy and Kanda wondered how they could have possibly supported her weight, especially when she had gone on her toes.

Kai saw him looking, "They're ballet shoes, Kanda," she said with a small laugh, "and they're specifically designed for me to go 'en pointe'. On the tips of my toes," she remedied, seeing the confusion on his face grow, "There's a platform inside to support me."

Kanda nodded, "I see now," he said, "Does Tiedoll know about this?"

"He actually suggested it," she said, looking a little embarrassed, "It keeps my mind clear. It's sort of like when you meditate, but I can't stay still like that, so I resort to this."

Again he nodded, "Anyway, Komui's looking for you," he said, remembering why he had sought her out, "You'd better go."

Kai nodded and put her boots back on. She held the ballet shoes out to Kanda, "Can you take these back to my room?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Which one are you?" he asked.

"419," she said, "Next to Emilia Galmar."

He nodded, "Alright."

He walked back down to the fourth floor and found the room. As he opened the door, Emilia walked out of her room.

"Kanda?" she said, "What are you doing going to Kai's room?" she looked at him disapprovingly, "It's not gentlemanlike to do such a thing!"

Kanda sighed, holding up the slippers, "She asked me to return these while she goes and talks to Komui. Don't get me confused with Lavi, Galmar."

As soon as she saw the shoes she clapped her hands and started giggling madly, "I can't believe she's a dancer! That's so romantic!"

Kanda ignored her and walked into the room. It was furnished like all the other exorcist's rooms: the one side of her bed tucked up against the large, floor-to ceiling window; the long, low dresser sitting beside a wardrobe on the opposite wall near the door; and finally, the roman-style lounger near the small bookcase filled with the occupants favorite titles. Kanda's room, though he rarely frequented it, was the spitting image of his own room and the only thing that caught his eye was how neat and clean Kai had kept the place. There was a place for everything and everything in its place.

"Wow," Kanda groaned as he realized that Emilia had followed him into the room, "She's really organized, isn't she?"

Kanda nodded, placing the shoes on top of the dresser, where Kai had told him to. He made to leave, but Emilia stopped him.

"So, is she really good?" she asked excitedly, "At ballet?"

Kanda shrugged. He really didn't want to talk to her. She got way too into these types of things.

"Emilia, how many times do I have to say it?" Kai walked in, looking annoyed, "Stay. Out. Of. My. ROOM!"

"Temper, temper," Emilia reproached, "It's unladylike. Anyway, why didn't you tell me you were a dancer? There's so much I want to know!"

It was Kai's turn to sigh, "I didn't say anything because I knew people would react this way. Now," she pointed to the door, "Get. Out."

Kanda made to leave too, but Kai called him back.

"Kanda, can you round up Lenalee for me and tell her to meet me at the waterway as soon as she's packed? The two of us are going on a mission."


	6. Surprises, the Variety Pack

**AN: Sorry if you get bombarded with chapters. Again, I'm going to Japan, so I won't be able to post very often, so I'm getting up what I've got so far. I think there's two or three more after this one.**

**Again, sorry for mistakes and whatnot.**

**~Surprises, the Variety Pack~**

"Thank you for resurrecting my old body, brother," The earl smiled as the fourteenth stood up stiffly.

"Be careful, it'll be a bit difficult to move after the rigor mortis," He said, "How do you feel, brother?"

He shrugged, "Better without the boy's influence," he said, "How is he doing?"

"He's out cold and we've restrained his innocence for the time being," the Earl replied, "But why on earth are you keeping him alive?"

"I have my reasons, brother," he said, "Just as I have my reasons for not killing you right now. Adam, I'll take my leave now, thank you again."

With that, the fourteenth walked to the room where his former host was being kept. He noted the Noah of Pleasure standing guard and nodded to him.

"Good evening, Tyki," he said, "May I see him?"

"Be careful," the younger man warned, "He may not be able to use his innocence, but he's pissed as hell and is ready to kill the next thing that walks into that room."

As if on cue, Allen's voice rang out, "LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU BASTARDS!" and a shattering alerted them to the fact that he had thrown the water pitcher against the tightly locked door. The fourteenth sighed.

"I'll calm him down," he said, opening the door and ducking inside, allowing Tyki to relock it just before Allen completed his mad dash to freedom. He swore violently and punched the wooden barrier as hard as he could with his left hand.

It didn't do much.

"Calm down, boy," the fourteenth said, sitting down in one of the armchairs near the fire. He couldn't see why the kid was complaining, he had a pretty nice set-up: A large, four-poster bed, and a nice view of the ocean.

Although, he was technically a prisoner.

_This is not going to go well if the boy doesn't keep it down._

"Allen, come here," he said, motioning to the armchair facing his own. Reluctantly, the boy sat, glaring intensely at the Noah.

"I hate you," he said, "It's your fault I'm in this situation."

"Which is precisely why I'm going to make things up to you," the fourteenth said calmly, "But before I go on, I need you to listen and, most importantly, be QUIET."

Allen crossed his arms huffily, still glaring at the man who faced him, "Fine, how on earth do you think you can help me? You're one of them."

"First," the fourteenth said, massaging his temples. This was going to tough, but, then again, he supposed the boy's stubbornness was to be expected, "Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Gabriel Walker, the fourteenth Noah, also known as the Noah of Spiritual Guidance."

Allen snorted derisively, "Right," he said, "Like there's anything spiritually-guiding about you guys."

Gabriel sighed again. This was going to take forever, "Why couldn't you have inherited your mother's personality?"

"What?"

Gabriel winced, he hadn't intended to breach that subject until much later, "Not now, Allen, we'll get to that later. If I tell you now, then we'll never finish."

"No," Allen said, again Gabriel cursed the boy's inherent stubbornness, "I want to know how you know my mother. Do you know my father too? Do you know why I was abandoned."

"I didn't abandon you!" Gabriel said, frustrated at himself for letting this slip, "I left you at the circus because I knew the Earl wouldn't find you there, or even think to look for you. I couldn't risk him finding out you were my son."

Allen gaped at him, white as a sheet, "Y-you're my…?"

Gabriel nodded, "Yes, I'm your father, Allen," he said, "Why else would I protect you from Adam?"

"Adam?"

"The Earl's real name," he said, "Never mind that now," he continued, "We're on the subject of family, so I guess I'll tell you the truth." He inhaled, "After my attempt to kill Ad-the Earl, I knew my loved ones were in danger. I had to hide you and your mother, Lily, but I couldn't risk keeping you two together, for, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that I had had a son was not known, but they did know that Lily was my wife.

"You had also, miraculously, be born an exorcist, even more reason for the Earl to hunt you down. So I hid Lily in Switzerland and then gave you to Le Circe de Cosmique. As fate would have it, Mana ended up there as well, I never imagined that I would see you again, yet there you were, twelve years old and already learning the hardships of life. I was out of time, so I begged Mana to imprint you with my memories. I didn't want to do it to my own son, but I was out of options.

"He agreed, but I had Cross Marian keep an eye on both of you all the same. He was my most trusted follower, yet I didn't even tell him you were my child. Then I proceeded to sleep in your subconscious as you grew into a young man. When you and your friends ended up in my ark, I knew that it was finally time. I delayed as long as possible, but, when you were stabbed a few weeks ago, I lost it. I couldn't let Adam hurt you any longer, so I gave him what he wanted."

"This is a lot to process," Allen said, quietly, "But can I ask you something?"

Gabriel nodded.

"Why did you try to kill him?" he asked.

His father exhaled, "The Millennium Earl once had duty to God," he said, "That duty was to guide the righteous souls to Heaven and the souls of the damned to Hell. However, as the years drew on, the amount of evil souls increased, so my brother decided to put a new meaning to his duty. With the help of the dark matter he decided to purge the world of humans, with only a few chosen to survive and create a new society of humans. Under his command, he would rework the world, so no evil would exist.

"The thing is, he neglected his other duty and didn't guide the souls of the dead to their proper place. Part of my power is to communicate with the souls of the dead and lead them to rest. It became too much for me to bear and I knew Adam had condemned his own soul in the attempt to purify others."

"So you made your decision," Allen concluded, "What now, though?"

"I need the Order to carry out my plans," he said, "So we'll get out of here, first. He stood, walking over to the window and unlocking it, "I slipped this from young Tyki's pocket when he wasn't looking," he said with a grin, "Now, up on the sill, there you go."

And, miraculously, no one noticed as they disappeared into the night. That is, until a certain Noah of Pleasure became suspicious over the lack of noise that had become prevalent for some minutes.

* * *

"So, you'll be making a small side-stop before your other mission, okay?"

"No problem, Komui," Kai said, "I'll meet Marie and Lenalee at the ship later, then?"

"Yes," the supervisor replied, "Good luck!"

Kai hung up the phone and walked out of the station. She was in a charming town in southern Portugal. It was a lovely place and she quite enjoyed walking down the quaint little cobblestone streets on her way to her destination.

"Momo! Crack! Where are you?" Kai turned to see a little boy crying as he called out the names again. She knelt beside him, putting a comforting hand on his hand.

"Are you lost?" she asked.

The boy nodded, "mm-hm, I can't find my friends! I just don't remember where the mine is either!"

"Well that's where I happen to be going," Kai said with a smile, "And since I happen to have directions, why don't we go together?"

The boy nodded, "One minute please," he said, "DAXY!"

A puppy, running clumsily on its too-large paws, came up to the boy, proceeding to lick his face affectionately. Kai smiled, but at the same time she had a weird feeling about the dog. For one-thing, it looked more like a wolf pup than any sort of dog, and the shape of the fur-patch on its forehead certainly sparked her interest. She decided that it would be a good idea to keep an eye on the boy while she was in town, just in case.

"Do you like him?" the boy asked as she made to pet the pup, "His name's Dax and I like him a lot."

Kai laughed, charmed by the boy's innocent nature, "He's adorable," she said as Dax licked her outstretched hand.

"He likes you! He likes you!" the boy said excitedly, "What's your name?"

"Kai," she replied, standing up and taking the boy's hand, "What's yours?"

"Eeze," he said, "Thank you so much for showing me the way! Why are you going to mine anyway?"

"I'm looking for someone," Kai said evasively, "And he was near the mine, so I'm going to talk to some of the people there and see if they know anything."

It was true, a finder investigating the town disappeared during the mine yesterday. So before Kai could go on her mission, Komui asked her to stop by and check it out.

They reached the mine to find three men talking to the warden. They seemed pretty frantic.

"Come on, sir!" one said, "He's only nine! Let us go look for him!"

"Please!" the other begged.

"Crack! Momo," Eeze cried joyfully, "AND YOU'RE BACK TYKI!"

Kai stared in amazement as Eeze ran forward and hugged the man tightly. She noted how Dax stayed back, a low growl emanating from his throat. Her suspicions increased when the man gave her a startled look. They were confirmed when he finally spoke.

"You must've brought li'l Eeze back to us," he said, shaking her hand and holding it tightly, as if giving her a warning. Kai certainly was not dense and took the hint, not saying anything about him being a Noah. She instead approached the warden, flashing the badge on her overcoat.

"I'm an exorcist from The Black Order," she said, "I believe my supervisor spoke to you on the phone?"

The warden nodded, looking someone confused, "Yes, though I wasn't expecting a young woman," he said, "They hire young ladies now, do they?"

"Neither age, nor gender has anything to do with the selection process," Kai replied curtly, "Now, if I may, I'd like to ask you if you ever saw a man by the name of Luka Marshall? He's twenty-four, very dark brown hair and light blue eyes, he was wearing a white coat emblazoned with the Rose Cross, the same one you see on my coat. He was checking out something in this town and disappeared around the mine yesterday. I'm only going to ask once more, do you know anything?"

The Warden shook his head, "I ain't got time to keep track of snoops who choose to wander around my mine. For all I care, he could've fallen in a hole and is waitin' for ya ta find 'im. Look, I ain't got time to deal with girls comin' in here actin' all high an' mighty and expectin' me ta-HEY HEY HEY!"

Kai had seized him by the collar and pulled out from behind his desk. She glared at him fiercely, "Look, I've got better things to do than deal with a sniveling western asshole like you," she growled venomously, "I can be nice about this, or I can electrocute your pathetic ass until you beg me to do my job, your choice, and I suggest you choose wisely."

"G-go right ahead, Lady Exorcist," he said as she dropped him to the floor, smiling sweetly.

"Why thank you for cooperating," she said, then rolled her eyes as she stalked off to search the mine. She paused before stepping out into the grounds, allowing Eeze and his friends to catch up with her.

"What's wrong, miss?" one of them asked, "You look troubled."

She shook her head, "The problem is I have no idea where to-"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" one of the miners was staggering away from his workplace, looking like he'd just seen a ghost. Fearing the worst, Kai sprinted out to him, stopping when she saw the body of the finder.

"Shit," she hissed, pulling his body out from the pile of rocks and checking his pulse, "Shit, he's dead." She glared pointedly at Tyki, "GET OUT HERE AND HELP ME!" she yelled. He obeyed and helped her to support the body between them, convincingly playing the man up as unconscious. While they carried him, she whispered, "Stupid move, Noah."

He smirked, "I thought it was brilliant. Oh, and if you tell Eeze or the other two, you'll get the same."

"Don't be so sure," Kai replied, "But I actually want to talk to that kid for a bit. I want to make sure he's okay living here. He seemed a little unwell when I spoke to him." Kai was admittedly lying through her teeth, but it was easy since Mikk seemed to have a soft spot for the boy.

"Alright, you seem to know your way around kids," he said, "You have a little sibling somewhere?"

She shook her head, "No, I had a mother who didn't know how to handle herself," she replied, "EEZE!"

The boy turned around and smiled at her, holding the pup in his arms. She knelt in front of him again, this time noticing his bandaged left hand, "What happened here?" she asked, holding the small hand in her own.

"Uh," he looked panicked as Mikk came up behind her, "It's nothing."

"Let the girl look at it, Eeze," Mikk said gently, "I'm sure she knows more than we do about injuries."

_Is that supposed to mean something?_

Eeze reluctantly took off the bandages, revealing a silver cross the same shape as the patch of Dax's fur. Kai looked warily at Mikk, whose expression was unreadable. She swallowed thickly, trying to figure out how to proceed without setting the Noah off. She inhaled deeply.

_Duty calls…unfortunately…_

"Eeze," she said with a warm smile, "The man that we found today was looking for something and I think you have that something."

"What is it?" Eeze asked, hugging Dax to his chest.

"It's something called innocence," she said, "It gives exorcists like myself the power to fight beings known as akuma. What you possess, through Dax, actually, is the power to fight alongside others like me. What will happen is that you will come to The Black Order and you will be trained by one of our generals. When you're ready, you'll go on missions to find other pieces of innocence. What do you say? Will you come with me?"

Eeze looked sadly at his two friends and Tyki, "What about Crack and Momo?" he asked.

"If they're willing," Kai said, standing, "We're always in need of new finders. I you're prepared to risk your lives supporting us exorcists, the order would be glad to take you on."

"What about Tyki?" Eeze asked.

"I-I have my other job to worry about Eeze," Mikk finally said, "Don't worry, I come into contact with the order often enough…you see…we're…"

"Enemies," Kai finished. She turned to him, "So now we're at an impasse," she said, "Will you kill me like you promised before?"

"K-kill?" the two men murmured.

"Tyki?" Eeze looked heartbroken, "Is it true? Do you kill people."

Mikk looked at him, removing his glasses and letting his skin turn into it's Noah shade, the crosses appearing on his forehead. He turned away, "You're in luck, Miss Exorcist," he said, "I won't kill anyone in front of them. Rest assured, however, that if I find out Eeze is unhappy, I will kill you, as slowly and painfully as I can."

"He'll be fine," Kai assured him, "It feels weird to comfort an enemy, but it's obvious you care for him. Don't worry, he'll be well cared for."

Tyki nodded, then left.


	7. Royally Uncomfortable

**AN: Again, sorry for any mistakes, I am in a rush, you know~**

**Enjoy!**

**~Royally Uncomfortable~**

"You just barely made it," Marie said as Kai hurried onto the ship.

"Sorry," she said, "I had to hand a new accommodator and a couple of new finders over for Lavi and Bookman to escort back to the Order."

"Really?" Lenalee said excitedly, "A new accommodator, that's great!"

Kai smiled, "Yes, but he's the same age as Timothy," she said, "So it'll be some time before he's out in the field with us. There's something else," and she recounted the meeting with Mikk.

"Well, it seems he has a weakness," Marie said, "Though I hope Rouvelier doesn't try to make use of that."

"I'm sure he won't" Kai said, "He's not stupid, he'll realize how disastrous that would be. Let's just go the cabin, shall we?"

They had been booked first-class cabins as usual and deposited their suitcases in their rooms. Lenalee and Kai were sharing the two-person suite and Marie took the room next to them. The latter then retired for a short nap while Kai and Lenalee went to wander around the deck.

"So Kanda and Alma's ship was attacked?" Kai asked, Marie had told her this shortly after they had boarded.

Lenalee nodded, "Pirates," she said, "We have to do reconnaissance on some obscure island after the mission. It'll be close to the innocence, so it's not too bad."

Kai sighed, "First Noah, now pirates," she said, "What next?"

"Kitty?" they turned to see a girl in her early twenties, with long chestnut hair and large blue eyes. Upon seeing her, Kai let out a cry of recognition.

"Monika!" she cried.

"Kitty!" the girl cried back as they embraced. She held Kai at arm's length, looking her up and down, "You've grown so pretty!" she said, "Just like Sayuri! Oh, I've missed you, kitty, and so have the other girls. What happened to you?"

Kai smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye," she said, "I've joined The Black Order, you see." She gestured to her jacket and the Rose Cross emblazoned there.

Monika nodded, "Oh the girls would love to see you," she said, "But, kitty, you know showing your legs like that is highly unladylike," she looked down at Kai's shorts, "At least wear stockings like your friend."

Kai shook her head with a small laugh, "I need to have my uniform like this in order to fight properly," she said, "And this is Lenalee Lee, my friend from the order. Lenalee, this is Monika Daniels, one of my friends from the London Academy of Dance."

"You dance, Kai?" Lenalee asked incredulously, "I thought Emilia was just playing around when she said that!"

Kai blushed, grinning, "Yeah, it clears my head."

Monika clapped her hands excitedly, "Oh you must come see the girls when you get the chance!" she said, "they'd love to see you again."

"They're here?" Kai said, "What about the director?"

Monika's smile faded, "You know the ship that was attacked by pirates? _The Queen's Herald_? The director was one of the hostages that was taken. The girls and I came because we knew this ship was going to barter their safe return."

Kai blinked, "Well that's partly why we're here too," she said, "Two of our comrades were on that ship and taken too."

"You're handling it very well," Monika said, "But let's move on to less weighty topics. Did you here? We have royalty aboard this ship!"

"Really?" Lenalee asked, "Who?"

"The Emperor of Japan!" Monika said, "Apparently he's thinking about opening Japan's ports to the rest of the world! He and his son are traveling around, to see if the world has enough to offer them."

"That's great, Kai!" Lenalee said, "Your homeland's finally opening up!"

Kai swallowed thickly, "I'll be hiding in my cabin until we reach our destination," she said, preparing to make a break for it.

"But I was hoping you'd perform with us!" Monika said, "We're dancing for them tonight."

Kai shook her head, "I'd better not. I don't want to risk being recognized. I don't know how the emperor would feel about seeing someone like me who ran away from Edo."

"But you were seven!" Monika protested, "He can't fault you for that, kitty."

"Monika," Lenalee said, "Why do you call Kai kitty?"

Monika laughed, "Because she was so shy at first, like a little kitten, so all the girls started calling her kitty."

Kai shrugged, "Anyway, I don't think it's a good idea for me to around when the emperor is." The truth was that Kai was scared, not of being recognized as a Japanese citizen, but as herself. She'd come to the castle with her father and had often been asked to play with the prince, who was only four years older than herself. She was terrified about what would be done to her because of her parents.

"Alright," Monika gave up, "Just try and sneak in for the performance, okay?"

Kai nodded, then took her leave from them both, allowing them to get acquainted in her absence. She hurried below deck and into her cabin, where she proceeded to collapse onto the bed and stare at the ceiling.

"Is life never easy?" she said, bitter amusement dripping from her words, "I wonder what other surprises await me."

* * *

True to her word, Kai snuck out onto the deck to watch Monika as the others performed their dance. It was a excerpt scene from Giselle, one of Kai's favorite ballets. It was the scene where Giselle saves her lover from the Wilis by dancing in his place whenever stumbles from exhaustion, thereby allowing him to escape death. Kai lost herself in the beautiful grace with which Monika, as Giselle herself, moved with one of the male dancers, playing Count Albrecht, as if they were one person.

Two moving as one. It was like seeing true love danced before her eyes.

She sighed happily as the dance ended and clapped along with the other members of the audience, noticing with satisfaction that the emperor and his son applauded the performance as well.

Well all seemed to go well and Kai was just about to head back below deck when one of the other dancers, Sandra, spotted her, crying out, "KITTY!" and rushing over to her. Monika looked panicked and hastily tried to reabsorb the prince and emperor in conversation, but it was too late, she'd been spotted. She fought down the rising apprehension in her gut as the two turned and bowed deeply as they approached.

"Your majesty," she said respectfully, praying that the years had wiped the memory of her appearance from his mind.

Unfortunately it was not to be.

"_Amaterasu be praised,_" the prince exclaimed, "_Is that you, Kaida-chan?_"

Kai couldn't lie to the royal family, "_Yes, your highness. It is good to see you as well, your majesty._"

"Where have you been?" the prince demanded, switching to English, "What happened to you?"

"Yes," the emperor said stiffly, "What happened, Miss Kirihara?"

Kai swallowed thickly, "W-well…"

"Kai!" Lenalee burst through the crowd, "Come quick, we've got a brief chance to talk with…" she stopped short, bowing apologetically as she saw the emperor, "forgive my rudeness," she said, "But I need to borrow her for a moment."

"We'll accompany you," the emperor said, giving Kai and disdainful look, "It'd be better if we spoke in private."

"Yes, my lord," Kai replied, proceeding Lenalee below deck to the private lounge, which was currently occupied by Marie and a telephone, the receiver of which was in his hand.

"Kai, is that you?" Marie asked as she approached. She nodded, then remembered his blindness.

"Yes," she said, "What's going on?"

"We've been allowed time to talk to Kanda and Alma," he said, handing her the receiver, "It'll be brief, but I figured you'd be better able to form a plan off the details they give you."

Kai nodded, taking the phone and putting it to her ear, "Kanda?" she noticed the little raise of the eyebrow that the prince gave as she said the name, but she ignored it, "Are you alright?"

"Just peachy," Kanda replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'm on a pirate ship, without my sword, surviving on crap rations and stuck in a cage with a seasick dance instructor, HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?"

"I'm not going to help you if you don't drop the lip, Kanda," Kai said tersely, "Why are they letting you talk to us? Are you giving us the location where the deal will take place?"

"Yeah," Kanda replied. He sounded exhausted, which was never good for his temper, though he was less likely to be violent, "An obscure island in the Caribbean," he said, giving her the coordinates, "It's basically the pirate happy place."

"I see," Kai replied, seeing the impatience in the emperor's face, "Look, I have to go, but we'll come for you as soon as we collect the innocence, alright? And tell the director that kitty says hello and that she and girls are on the way, okay? That should help him calm down and quell his stomach."

"Thanks," Kanda said, "Alma's asleep, otherwise I'd have you talk to him too. For his first mission, this wasn't exactly what he expected."

"He'll be fine if you're there," Kai replied, "What's the ship's name?"

"_The Black Cat's Nightmare_" Kanda said, "I've got to go, everyone's sort of getting a free call right now."

"I need to as well," Kai said, "Give Alma my best and get some sleep, it's bad for your temper and you won't be able to fight well."

"Yes, mother," Kanda replied, "Bye."

"Night." She handed the receiver back to Marie, "He's not there yet, but they gave me the coordinates. It should take us by our target, actually, so it all works out. Lenalee, can you run up to the captain of the ship and tell him where to go?"

Lenalee nodded as Kai gave her the coordinates and left the room, looking back anxiously before closing the door, "Be careful," she said.

"Always am," Kai replied, smiling reassuringly.

"No you're not," Marie deadpanned, "And why are you so nervous? Who's with you?"

Kai sighed, "The honorable emperor and his most honorable first son," she said, "Marie, maybe it's best if I'm alone on this one."

"No, you almost died last time I left you alone," he said, "I let you go off instead of making you wait until I'd recovered from that illness. No way am I leaving now!"

"If you're quite finished," the emperor cut in, "Please explain yourself, Miss Kirihara. Where are your parents? Your brothers?"

Kai inhaled deeply, calming herself, "My mother died eight years ago, your highness," she said, "as for my father and brothers, I honestly have no idea where they are."

"Why did you leave Japan? You know it's forbidden, especially for an army officer like your father," the emperor said indignantly, "even if he is retired."

"He wanted a safer home for his family, sir," Kai said, "He didn't want us living with monsters and robbers lying in constant wait to kill us. He couldn't stand the idea of my brothers and I growing up that way. He took my brothers and left, promising to return for my mother and I before two years were up."

"Well? Go on!"

"We waited for three years," Kai continued, "And my mother lost hope. Before I knew it, she'd arranged passage for us to China and we left. She joined a dance troop, then died from…illness." She was reluctant to say suicide.

"Illness? Is that the truth, Miss Kirihara?"

"M-mental illness, sir," Kai said, "She became very depressed and ended her life under the impression that my father had abandoned us."

"And as for you?"

"I became an exorcist," she said, "and was inducted into the Black Order, and here I am now."

"What did your friend mean," the prince asked, "About the last time he left you alone?"

"We were on a mission," she said, "I unfortunately can't give details about what we do, but suffice to say I went alone while Marie was being treated for food poisoning in a local hospital. My team was ambushed and I just barely made it out alive. I ended spending four years away from the Order, no knowing who I was or where I came from. It was actually around a month and a half ago that I returned to my place as an exorcist."

"And still nothing from your father?" the emperor asked.

Kai shook her head, "Nothing, but I'll be frank and say that I'm not exactly keen on seeing him again. If I do, however, I'm ready to give him a piece of my mind."

"And we'll have something worse than the numerous Kanda punching-bag cases, won't we, Kai?" Marie asked, an amused, yet pained smile on his lips.

"It's not my fault he decided to push me over the edge so often," she said, "Besides, it was good training."

"Miss Kirihara," the emperor was standing now, "You are off the hook for now and I hope you will behave…more favorably from now on. I cannot say the same for your father, though. Your bothers I will be more lenient with as well, this was not their choice."

"Thank you, your highness," Kai said with a bow. He left, but the prince stayed behind.

"May I have a moment alone with her?" he asked, speaking to Marie, who nodded reluctantly.

"I'll be back in my cabin, Kai," he said.

She nodded, "See you."

When he was gone, Kai suddenly found herself in the prince's embrace. She blushed, trying to push him away, but he held firm, burying his head in her shoulder.

"Y-your highness?"

"Haven't I've told you numerous times that you can call me Akira?" he demanded, pulling away, but still keeping his arms looped around her waist, "Please, Kai, for once!"

"L-lord Akira," she said hesitantly, "Is something wrong?"

He nodded, "Yes, the fact that you are not in Japan right now," he said serious, looking deep into her eyes, "I want you there with me, come back!"

"I can't, your- lord Akira," Kai said, "I have a duty as an-!"

"You have your duty to your country," he cupped her chin in his hand, "And that is to be beside me when I inherit it. I want you to be one with me!"

Kai stared at him, "Are you doing what I think you're doing?"

"The day we found out that you were gone was when my father sent emissaries to request your betrothal to me. Kai I've wanted this for years! I've turned down so many offers in the hopes of finding you."

"Your highness," Kai said, drawing away from this, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, but maybe you should consider rethinking your options. I'm afraid I'm not one of them."

And she ran, leaving Prince Akira staring at her as she sprinted out of the room.

**AN: I know the Emperor wouldn't leave Japan like that, but...I dunno, I got creative, I guess...**


	8. Of Pirates and Innocence

**AN: Perhaps one more after this, I just have to finish it up...anyway, ENJOY! Review if you feel like it!**

**~Of Pirates and Innocence~**

Kai managed to evade the prince for the next few days by refusing to leave her cabin. She knew that if she did, Akira would pressure her into the marriage if he could and, though she wanted to, she couldn't lash out at the prince.

_Why refuse?_

_He's a prince._

_So? You're an exorcist and his childhood playmate, it's a fitting match._

_I still have the war._

_You can marry after it's over._

_I don't love him._

_You can learn._

_No._

_Why?_

_Because I want to marry for love._

And that was the end of that mental argument, but Kai knew more would follow and she prayed she wouldn't begin to lose. She rolled out of bed, pulling on her boots and leaving her jacket on the bed. They had passed into the Caribbean the other day and the weather had already gotten progressively warmer, so she contented herself with the black tank-top she wore underneath and the black gauntlets Johnny had made to protect her hands while she was fighting.

She stretched, putting her hair up in its usual high ponytail and walking out of the cabin. She desperately needed some fresh air. As she walked up onto the deck, she saw dark clouds overhead. She smiled as the rain began to fall on her face.

_Rain, a thunderstorm…perfect…_

"You'll catch your death out here like that," Kai mentally groaned as her short peace was interrupted by Akira coming up behind her with an umbrella. She walked out from under it, enjoying the renewed coolness on her face. She smiled to herself as she felt and saw ship just a little ways ahead of them.

Her plan had worked.

"Kai? Did something good happen?" Akira asked.

She nodded, "Yes," motioning her golem closer to her, "Marie, Lenalee, We're coming up on Kanda and Alma, get ready."

"I still can't believe you foresaw this," Lenalee said, emerging on the deck a moment later. She too had abandoned her jacket, "What do we do now?"

"Handle negotiations early, or fight," she said, "I haven't decided yet," she turned back to the prince, "Get below deck, your highness, this won't work if you're here."

He left reluctantly and Kai ignored Lenalee's curious glance. Marie emerged onto the deck as well, "What's the plan?" he asked.

"We'll see," Kai said, "HELMSMAN! GIVE THEM THE SIGNAL!"

The helmsman nodded, signaling the crow's nest to give the peace signal. The pirate ship slowed and they came up alongside them. Their helmsman, a hulking man, called out to them.

"Negotiations are ta take place later," he said, "Yer a little early."

"Change of plans," the captain of the exorcist's ship called out, "We'll deal with this here."

_No we won't._

It had just hit her, the things rising up from the depths at a frightening pace.

"MARIE, HOLD THE SHIPS TOGETHER!" she said as the Akuma burst up from the water. Marie reacted just in time, using the strings of Noel Organon to keep the ships from drifting apart. Startled cries came from the passengers as both boats rocked on the rough waves.

"TWO SHIPS!" One of the akuma cried, "A FEAST!"

"HEY AND THERE ARE EXORCISTS ON THAT ONE!" the other cried, pointing at Marie.

_Kanda, hurry up and get out here._

Kai and Lenalee made the first moves. Kai used the strings connecting the two ships as her landing space after she made a kill. They were doing pretty well against the horde of level 3's until a huge jolt almost threw her off the cables.

"What the…"

* * *

Kanda was jerked out of some much-needed sleep by the sound of his cell door opening and his much unwanted roommate being thrown back in with a squeal.

"Sorry ta wake ya, sleepin' beauty," the pirate said as Kanda glared at him.

"I'd respond to that comment, but I'm too fucking tired," he said.

"The cap'n took a looksie at that sword o' yers," the pirate went on, "It's a nice one, where'd ja get it?"

"It was made for me," Kanda said dismissively, "Can't give details, it's against Black Order policy."

The pirate chuckled, "stubborn one, ain't ja?" he said, "What's yer name, kid?"

"Kanda," he replied wearily. He wanted the guy to leave and let him get back to sleep.

"Surname, eh? Alright, alright, I won't press ya for your given one," the pirate said, "The name's Bane, I'm yer babysitter as you've already noticed."

"Yeah? I had no clue," Kanda said, surprised that he could still manage sarcasm in his state, "look, is there really any point in this talk?"

Bane nodded, "Yup, y'see your cellmate here's been being interrogated about a certain subject. He claimed not to know anythin' until after ye had yer call to yer Black Order friends, then he says just now he knows something."

Kanda shot the cowering director a questioning glare, "How on earth did passing on that message help you in the slightest?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't think it'd affect you!" the man cried.

Kanda pinched the bridge of his nose, too damn tired to hit him, "Alright," he said, standing up, "I'm going in his place now?"

"Smart boy," Bane said, "Yer friend too."

Kanda blinked, then shrugged, nudging Alma with his foot, "Wake up."

Alma sat up, looking blearily at Kanda, "Yu? Was wrong?" he asked sleepily.

"We're going to see the captain," Kanda replied, hoisting Alma to his feet, "Look alive, alright? I'm still amazed at how you seem to be able to sleep through anything."

Alma stretched, "How come we're going to the captain?"

"Because director of the dancing vomit here said something he shouldn't have," Kanda said, glaring pointedly at the poor man.

Alma yawned, "Can't be helped then," he said, "Let's go."

Kanda nodded, preceding his friend out of the cell and up onto the deck, where they were greeted by the raucous laughter of pirates. They were all seated around a groups of lamps and socializing.

_Glad things are going well for them…_

"Captain!" Bane called, leading Kanda and Alma to the group, "I brought 'em like ye asked me ta."

"Good, good, bring 'em here," The captain said as he stood up. Alma was instantly intimidated and Kanda could see why. This man, despite being Asia, rose above six-foot and looked like he break the mast in two if he decided to hug it. His long hair was rolled in numerous small, colorfully beaded, dreadlocks. He quirked an eyebrow questioningly as the two exorcists came into sight.

"Is something wrong, captain?" Bane asked nervously.

"They're so young," he said, "You two really fighters?"

Kanda nodded, "Age really has nothing do with it," he said.

"You look exhausted, boy," The captain said, gesturing at two empty seats across from him, "Sit, sit, we can't talk if you fall over."

Kanda and Alma gratefully took the seats, "What exactly is this about, sir?" Alma asked nervously.

"Hey now, let's start with introductions," the captain said, Kanda noticed how articulate he was compared to Bane, "I'm in a good mood, so I'll be nice right now. Alright, I'm Captain Kuroumi Ryusuke," he said, "Feel free to call me Captain Kuro or just Captain if you're lazy. Now what are you two known as."

"A-Alma Karma," Alma said, looking embarrassed, "I just prefer Alma, though."

"Good name," the captain replied, "What about you, son?"

"Kanda Yu," He replied, "But I'm generally known by my surname, with Alma, here as the exception…well, the one I won't hit if he calls me by my given name."

"Ah, a fellow Japanese man," the captain said with a laugh, "and why is he the exception?"

"We grew up together, so we're sort of like brothers," Alma said, relieving Kanda of the potential loss of his dignity.

The captain, "Ah, now then, on to business," he looked seriously at the two of them, "If you don't answer me honestly I will not be afraid to whip you until I've taken all your skin from your backs."

Alma shuffled closer to Kanda, who did everything in his power to look unfazed, though, in all honesty, the prospect of such pain wasn't exactly pleasing to him.

"First," the captain began, "Do you know either of these two people?" He held up a picture of a mother and daughter, both clad in ballet garb. The mother was supporting her daughter as the little girl brought her leg up into a position he believed Emilia had said was called developé. They were both smiling joyfully, a lovely mother-daughter moment. However, despite the feeling of familiarity, Kanda just couldn't put his finger on who they were.

"There's something familiar about the one, but I just can't…" he stopped himself, looking closer at the little girl. If he imagined the girl's bangs longer, draped across her left eye, knowing that underneath it lay, "My God…" he said.

"What is it? Who is it?" Alma asked, "I don't recognize either of them."

"It's Kai's early days at the academy," Kanda replied, "I was thrown off by how young she is. When I met Kai, her hair was longer and she never pulled it back all the way. Plus, she was nine at that time, here she looks a little younger."

"Wow, now I see it," Alma said.

The captain cleared his throat and took the picture back, "So you recognize the girl, but what about the woman?"

"I've never met her personally," Kanda said, "But I'll assume she's Kai's mother?"

The captain nodded, "Do you know what happened to either of them?"

"Not until I know why you're asking."

"Excuse me?"

"I can't give details on fellow Black Order members," he said, "I may not be very happy with the organization itself, but I have pride and loyalty to the people I risk my life with everyday. Kai in particular trained under the same person as Alma and I, and I'm even less inclined to betray a fellow student. So either I know your reasons for this, or I guess I'll have to take the whipping."

The captain looked at him pensively, then sighed, "Fine," he said, standing up and whispering something into Kanda's ear, "That enough reason?"

Kanda stared at him, then nodded, "I-I suppose," he said, "Alright, as I sort of just mentioned, Kai is currently an exorcist of The Black Order. Beforehand, she was a dancer along with her mother. However, her mother sank into some sort of depression and…ended…her life. Kai became an exorcist a short while later as I understand it and has been fighting for us pretty much ever since."

The captain nodded, "Alright," he said, "Where is she now?"

"On the ship that's coming to handle negotiations," Kanda replied, "Along with a couple of other exorcists."

He nodded again, "Alright… Kanda, was it? Thank you for your cooperation, you're reward will be that you and your friend will be sleeping in a cabin instead of the brig, though you'll be locked in all the same. Oh, and don't use that sword of yours to slice the door open. It's black mahogany."

* * *

Kanda couldn't believe how good he felt at the moment. He'd have to have had the best amount of sleep in ages and Mugen was back in his possession. Alma too had had his wristbands returned to him.

He heard the helmsman yelling, but couldn't make out the words. Then the ship gave a violent jerk and he could hear the muffled sounds of a frightened commotion out on the deck. He could also hear explosions mixed into the noise.

_There's only thing that would scare a pirate…_

_

* * *

_

"Hey, exorcists!" the helmsman called, pointing at something, "WHAT IS THAT?"

The water had begun to sway and bubble as though someone had super-heated it. Kai finished up with her current opponent and dropped to the cables again. She looked down in horror to see the beautiful forms of women starting to climb the sides of the ships.

_The innocence._

_Where are you Kanda?_

As if on cue, she heard his voice over the din of the akuma, "KAICHU ICHIGEN!" and there he was, standing on the gunwale and holding Mugen aloft. Alma had also joined the fray, his innocence materializing into three blades that attached to the bands on his wrists.

"Kanda!" She called, "You help the others deal with the akuma, I'm going after the innocence!"

"ARE YOU NUTS?" Kanda cried as he cleaved another akuma in two, "It could be at the bottom of the ocean!"

"I'm the only one who'll be able to find it," she said, leaping up onto the gunwale to help him, "Look, my innocence is the quickest way to find it!"

Kanda opened his mouth to retort, but the women had begun to sing. He swore as the helmsman and pirates went under the spell and the ships began to drift toward the wreckage of other ships that had succumbed to the sirens' deadly melody. Being in possession of innocence, the exorcists were not susceptible to the music, but they needed to get the innocence out of the water before it was too late.

Kanda swore again, "FINE! Hurry up, though!"

Kai nodded, finishing off her adversary and diving into the stormy ocean. As soon as she hit the water, she found the innocence. It was in the very center of the shipwrecks. She used her innocence and rocketed herself to the ruins and rose above the water to catch her breath. So far, the sirens hadn't noticed her, which was certainly good. However, that all changed once she grabbed hold of the fragment. She was almost back to the pirate ship, which was nearest to her at this point, when they stopped singing and began shrieking, rushing over to where she was. They grabbed her, pulling her beneath the water before she could get a proper breath. As water filled her lungs, Kai let off a mass amount of lightening from her body, driving the sirens off long enough for her to throw herself out of the water. She began to fall short and desperately stretched her free hand out to the ship, grabbing the rail of the gunwale before she fell back to the waves.

Her exhausted and drenched state began to make her slip. However, just before she lost her grip, she felt someone's strong arms pull her onto the deck. She fell into the embrace, completely worn out. She couldn't see who was carrying her now, but she knew who it was all the same.

_Kanda._

Kai leaned gratefully into Kanda's chest, allowing herself to begin to drift off.

"Don't go to sleep quite yet," Kanda said, "There's something you need to do. Can you stand?"

Kai nodded, sighing as he set her on the deck, "What is it?" she said wearily, swaying slightly.

"Um…negotiations," Kanda said evasively, "The deal is that the captain meets with you and talks to you while we take the hostages on board, then you come back and we head home."

"Why me?"

Kanda grimaced, he'd hoped Kai's fatigued state would cloud her judgment and she wouldn't question him. He shrugged, "You planned this out, I guess he feels you're a smart person to deal with."

"You're lying through your teeth, Kanda," Kai said. She sighed, "Whatever, I'm exhausted, so I'll get whatever's really going on over with and meet you back on the ship."

Kanda let out a sigh of relief, "Alright, Alma's already escorting the others back to the ship," he said, "I'll tell the others and see you there."

Kai nodded, "If I'm not back in half an hour, just go on without me. I'll catch up with you later."

**AN: Finally, some family stuffs. Next chapter will get on with some more...creative stuff~**


	9. A Dramatically Splitting Head

**An: Alrighty, last one for a bit. Again, I'm sorry for bombarding your inboxes with this. If I can I'll see what I can get done on the plane and in the airport during my layovers, but odds are further chapters will take some time to put out. Enjoy the chapter and wish my luck in Japan ^w^ I'll miss you all!**

**~A Dramatically Splitting Head~**

Kanda waited on the deck for Kai while everyone else either sought out medical attention or the comfort of cabins. Lenalee and Marie had taken Alma below deck to show him where their cabins were and get their wounds taken care of. Meanwhile he stood there, leaning on the gunwale, and waited.

"So you're the Kanda that Kaida-chan was taking with over the phone?"

Kanda turned to see a man who looked somewhat older than himself approach. He was dressed in plain black slacks and a white button-down, but with his height and overall bearing, the man made the simple look regal. His bangs hung in the same way Lavi's did when he took off his headband, the rest of it hanging down his back in a long, low pony tail. Kanda, being a more perceptive person than he would care to let on, couldn't help but notice the cold disdain in those dark blue eyes.

"Yes?" he said, confused.

"It takes a lot of nerve for a Japanese man not to bow to his prince."

Kanda blinked, then bowed stiffly, "I didn't know," he said, "Forgive me, your highness."

The prince shrugged, "I suppose," he said, "But it's a wonder that you wouldn't know," he continued, "The Kanda family is one well-respected and high up in court. They are one of our best Samurai families. I'm surprised you wouldn't know that. Are you not perhaps the son of the lost heir, Kanda Yudai?"

Kanda blinked at him, "I don't have parents," he said, turning back to lean on the rail, "My story's a complicated one and one I'd rather not go into." He then remembered something the prince had said earlier, "Wait, did you say you know Kai? As in, Kirihara Kai?"

The prince nodded, "Childhood playmates," he said, "She seems to be handling my proposal rather badly, though."

"Proposal?" Kanda said incredulously.

"Well yes," the prince said, "She's the daughter of one of the best military strategists in Japan, it's quite a fitting match. After all, it'd be rather tragic if she married a rank-less, parentless man like yourself who has no knowledge of proper conduct whatsoever."

Kanda glared at him, "I'd hit you," he said, "But I need to keep my head on my shoulders for now. Plus I don't need another beating from Kai."

"So you two don't get along?"

Kanda shook his head, "We trained under the same general," he said, "But we were both going through some hard times when we met. In the end we took our frustrations out on each other though sparring. Unfortunately, since I have no knowledge of how to use pressure points against my opponent, I always lost when in came to hand-to-hand combat, though I will admit I tended to win when it came to the sword. After a while, we got to know each other better and became friends."

It shocked even Kanda that he would actually admit that he had friends other than Alma.

"I see," the prince replied curtly, "Well, Kanda, I'd like you to do me a favor."

"Depends," Kanda said, "I'm not exactly one to do people favors."

"It's nothing too difficult," the prince said, leaning on the rail as well, "Just don't get too close to Kai."

"Excuse me?"

"She needs to think my proposal over with a clear head," he said, "Don't move in and cloud her judgment."

Kanda was at a complete loss as to how to respond. Stay away from Kai? What the hell was with this guy? They were friends, nothing more! It's not like he paid attention to the way her laugh was intoxicating… or how gracefully she moved when she walked…or…

_TRAITOR!_

Kanda winced, clutching the rail of the ship so hard that his nails started to dig into the wood. Then, without warning, he vomited spectacularly over the side of the ship. He then continued to dry-heave violently for a few moments before the fit passed.

"What…the…hell…" he gasped.

"A little ill, my friend? Perhaps that pirate ship did a worse number on you than you thought."

Kanda glared at him again, breathing heavily, "Look, I'm really tempted to hit you right now, so BACK OFF."

The prince took a step back, then smirked, "I don't think I have anything to worry about," he said, "I don't Kai would fall for an uncouth bastard like yourself. After all, what gentleman lets a lady handle negotiations with pirates alone?"

"Shut…up…" Kanda panted, then looked up to see his fellow student crossing back onto the ship.

* * *

Not even fifteen minutes had time to pass before Kai was back on the ship. Kanda swallowed thickly as she approached him, readying himself for the beating that was sure to come. He should've told her, he knew how she felt about the subject, and he lied to her face.

Big mistake.

_Kanda Yu, you are one hell of an idiot._

What happened next was completely unexpected. She didn't hit him, no, she simply placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a quiet, "thank you."

"Kai?" he said, noticing how dead her eyes looked, "Are you alright."

"I'm fine," she said, but he could tell she wasn't, "and thanks again."

"For what?" Kanda demanded, "You look like you just got slapped in the face."

"Yes, but with reality," she said, a broken-hearted smile on her lips, "Now I can go forward without anymore false hopes." She turned to the prince, "Your highness?"

"Yes?" he said, "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"Your highness might want to consider retracting your proposal," she said, "I'm not exactly of a desirable rank anymore."

"What are you talking about Kai?"

"You wanted to know what happened to my father and brothers right?" she said, gesturing at the retreating _Black Cat's Revenge_, "Well there's my father's ship. I'm nothing but the daughter of a low-life pirate."

With that, she went below deck and didn't reemerge until they docked and she could leave without seeing the prince again.

* * *

When they were back at headquarters, Kanda noticed how Kai seemed to withdraw from most social activity. She never spoke much on missions and seemed to spend a lot of time in the White Garden. He couldn't exactly blame her, though, finding out her father had fallen to the rank of pirate and brought her brothers down with him must have hurt her more that she would care to let on.

"Well, she did grow up seeing her father as this amazing military hero," Marie said as they sparred together, "It must have been shattering to learn how far he'd fallen, plus think about how this looks to her."

"What do you mean?" Kanda said as he ducked to avoid one of Marie's kicks.

"She spent her time thinking he didn't give a damn about her and her mother, but some part of her must have retained some hope that he had found a respectable job and was coming back for them. Seeing him as a pirate completely crushed that hopes and now she thinks that her father abandoned them to go gallivanting around and plunder the high seas."

Kanda blinked, "That actually makes sense," he said, jumping out of the way of another blow, "Now I feel like shit for indirectly telling her."

Marie shrugged, "It's not your fault," he said, "and she had to find out some time, right?"

"Yeah, and I suppose this'll further keep her away from that asshole prince," he growled.

"Yes, this is actually the perfect time for you to make a move," Marie said with a smile.

Kanda stopped short, "Wait…what?"

Marie stopped too, "Oh come now, Kanda, I can see that you like her, and I'm blind!" he said, "Go comfort her, apologize for not warning her, I'm sure she'll share your feelings."

Kanda gaped at him, "Are you kidding? I can't be…romantic or any of that crap," he said, "I'm not wired that way, besides…" he paused, "Those old memories will get in the way and screw it up."

Marie sighed, "I'm sure you'll do fine," he said, clapping the younger man on the shoulder, "Now go."

And that was how Kanda suddenly found himself once again entranced by the graceful movements of Kirihara Kaida. However, this time he didn't go unscathed. Two minutes into watching her dance, he started clutching at his head and fell to the floor, convulsing. Kai, not being completely oblivious during her special ritual, immediately rushed to his aid. Though he was unaware of who was putting him on whatever surface and taking him God knows where, he was aware of a steady presence holding onto his hand, speaking words of comfort into his ear.

"It's going to be alright, Kanda, just hang on, you'll be fine, stay with me, okay?"

_Okay…wait, no, I'm supposed to be doing this, I'm supposed be comforting you, I'm supposed to…_

_

* * *

_

"Hey, Alma, look alive, mate!" Lavi said, clapping the younger teen on the shoulder. The Korean boy winced at the impact, then grimaced apologetically.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm just really worried about Yu."

"Me?" Lavi asked, confused, "OH! Kanda, right." He shrugged, "I wouldn't be too concerned."

"Why? He's comatose on assisted breathing!" Alma protested, "Who knows if he'll live!"

"Alma, he's tough, I'm talking indestructible," Lavi replied, "Yu's not going to go down so easily. Just you wait, he'll pull through. Plus," he grinned mischievously, "His girlfriend is by his side all the time, these days, isn't she?"

Alma blinked, "You know Kai and Yu aren't together like that, right?"

Lavi chuckled, "Not yet, at any rate," he said, "It's only a matter of time."

Alma shrugged, "That would be nice if Yu would finally show some affection," he said, "But he can't do anything in his state."

"True," Lavi conceded, "Man, they're really missing out, Nagoya is just stunning!"

It was true, Kai had refused the mission to Japan to stay by Kanda's side, so Alma and Lavi had been given the assignment. Bookman's rheumatism had been troubling him recently, so bookman junior and the second exorcist were on their own.

"Excuse me?"

The two of them turned to see a woman approaching them. Her black hair was pulled up in a high, short ponytail, with two small sections hanging in front of her ears. Alma thought there was something familiar about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Can we help you?" He asked, smiling politely.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhearing," she said, "But did you just say you know a Kanda Yu?"

They nodded, "What about him?" Lavi asked. Alma couldn't help but notice the look he was giving her. Once again, it seemed that the older teen was smitten…though this woman was indeed pretty, Alma thought she was definitely too old for the redhead.

Tears welled up in her eyes, "Oh I'm so happy!" she said, "My son is alive!"

Alma blinked at that, "Ma'am? I think you're mistaken…"

Her face fell, "What do you mean?"

"Um, the only Kanda Yu I know is an artificially body created over nine years ago," he said awkwardly, "He's not, y'know, actually human…"

The woman shook her head, "No! Yu is my son! I think I'd remember giving birth to my own child eighteen years ago. His father was ordered to bring him to the Black Order for some reason and I haven't heard from either of them since. Yudai, his father told me he'd probably become an exorcist one day and not to worry about it!"

"But…"

"Alma, I actually think this requires some looking into," Lavi said, "When I heard about this whole Second Exorcist project, I was indeed shocked, but there were some gaps that I just couldn't figure out. For one, I really don't think the Order has the power to create artificial bodies…at least, not successful ones. Perhaps you and Kanda are actually humans that were given your special abilities though experimentation, but the higher-ups covered it up to suppress any large-scale uproar. I say we return once we complete our mission and look into it."

* * *

"So you really think this, Alma? Lavi?"

They nodded and Komui sighed, "And you, um, Mrs. Yuda, "You believe Kanda is actually Yudai's son?"

She nodded. Lavi and Alma had brought her back with them after the mission to investigate the truth behind Alma and Kanda's creation.

"To save unnecessary hassle," Reever said sadly as he approached them, "I'll tell you now that it's true. Kanda Yu is indeed the son of Kanda Yudai and Alma, you too are the son of human parents. However, your mother was a finder who perished on a mission and your father was the exorcist whose innocence you now carry. I'm sorry, we were forbidden to tell you."

Alma gaped at him, "So…Kanda and I are…human?" he said incredulously.

Reever nodded, "However, Kanda is much more unstable than you because his mother is still alive."

Yuda blinked, "What do you mean? Is my son alright?"

"He's alive, and that's what matters at this point," the section chief replied, "However, his father's memories, which he currently holds, are desperate to find you and be with you again."

She stared at him in shock, "W-where is he?" she demanded.

"In the infirmary, but I don't-HEY!" Yuda had already sprinted down the hall and out of site. Surprisingly enough, she made it to the infirmary, where she found Kanda is his still-comatose state. She clutched his hand tightly, tears streaming down her face."

"Oh Yu," she said, "What has happened to you? I should never have let your father take you here," She held his hand to her cheek, "I never thought I'd see either of you again!"

Kanda's eyes flickered open, then widened as he saw the woman, recognition plain on his face.

Then it happened.

He screamed so loudly that his back arched off the bed as he clutched the sheets in pain. He continued like this for several moments until he finally lost consciousness again.

* * *

_Yu?_

_Where am I?_

_Yu, come here._

He did as he was told, sitting across from a man who looked vaguely familiar. His blue-back hair hung down his back in a very long, low ponytail. His fringe hung in the same way as Kanda's, only more neatly kempt than his own. His dark grey eyes were also the spitting image of his own. With the small goatee on the man's chin, Kanda felt like he was looking at a middle-aged version of himself.

The was dressed in the older version of the Black Order uniform and Kanda couldn't help but notice that it was the same style as his own. A sword also hung on his hip, an all too-familiar one at that.

_That's Mugen!_

The man nodded.

_It was once mine to wield. However, when I was attacked and near death, it was passed on to you, wasn't it?_

Kanda gaped at him.

_You're…_

_Kanda Yudai, the exorcist whose innocence and memories you carry._

_Wait…that prince said something about you…aren't you the missing heir to a Samurai family?_

Yudai nodded.

_It was my original intention to leave you with your mother once you were born. However, when I was ordered to return, Central gave me commands to bring you back to the Order with me. I was confused and a little worried, but I could not disobey a direct order. You grew up with me, though I can't begin to imagine what sort of impact my almost-death had on you. Though I doubt even you know anymore._

_Wait! Are you saying that…you're my…FATHER?_

_Yes, you were my spritely little eight-year-old, living at the Asian Branch with Zhu, Twi, and Edgar while I was gone. When I was ambushed and nearly killed, they erased your memories on central's orders and subjected you to heinous experimentation, which gave you to healing powers you possess now. I know this because I watched from within your mind, as well as how you slept for almost a year after they were done experimenting on you. I was happy when you awoke, but I was sad to see you'd forgotten all the wonderful times we'd shared. I'd only seen this horrible thing done once before, with the six-year-old son of Kwan Sun and his wife, Mi Cha. I would've raised a complaint about young Jae being subjected to this, but I was promptly sent on my mission after I found out._

_So Alma's real name is Jae Sun?_

_Yes, since he was the first successful second, they felt they'd change his name to make it sound more impressive….bunch of idiotic hype if you ask me. He got the lucky end of this whole thing, Yu, as both of his parents had died. My desire to live and see your mother again has unfortunately been causing you much pain. I'm sorry for it._

_So what now? Am I going to die too? I saw…well I guess it was mother, so what happens?"_

_You will die, yes, but not in the way you think. The you without your memories, the you with your fleeting lifespan, the second exorcist you will die. However, in his place will reawaken your memories of the past, the ones with me. You will still possess your strange healing abilities, I cannot change that, but it will not threaten your health._

_What about you? What happens to you?_

_I do now know, all I know is that you will continue on as an exorcist, a legitimate exorcist, and I will not be the one to hold Mugen in my grasp again. Take care of your innocence, Yu, I do not know when or if we will see each other again._

_

* * *

_

The scene Komui witnessed was one beyond anything he'd ever expect to see occur at the order.

A strange blue light emitted itself from Mugen, engulfing Kanda's body in its soft glow. It disappeared for a moment, then returned at full force and momentarily blinded him. When he could see again, it was to see an unfamiliar man standing in the room, looking shocked and pleased at the same time. He was also wearing the exorcist's uniform.

Yuda leapt up at the site of the man, crying out with surprised joy, and threw herself into his arms. Komui looked away to allow them a private moment to kiss, then heard them speaking.

"You actually waited this long for me?" the man was saying.

"Of course, how could I give up on you and our son?" Yuda replied, "I told you I'd wait forever."

"Forgive me for interrupting," Komui said, coming forward, "But I need to speak with you both." He was determined to get to the bottom of this whole second exorcist ordeal.


	10. Negotiations

**I'M NOT DEAD I SWEAR! Sorry for delaying by...months? now =3= Japan takes up a lot of my free time and my host family doesn't have internets, so... yeah, add to that that I've been off my DGM fix for a while...**

**Anyway, ENJOY!**

**10**

"You seem…different, Kanda," Kai remarked as they ate. He blinked, then let out a small smile.

"I don't know why, since we're in the middle of a war and all," he said, "But I feel really good these days." In all honesty, however, ever since Kanda had met his parents and regained his memories, his old personality had been coming back little by little. He was on his way to being the pleasant reserved man he'd been as a child. Kai, who had been on a mission during the whole event, was, of course, completely unaware of this.

"Well, it's good to see you doing well, I was really worried there," she said, fidgeting with the food on her plate.

He put his hand over hers, "You need to eat more," he said, genuine concern coming into his voice, "You can't let this thing hang over your head forever. I'm sure your father had his reasons for doing… what he did."

Kai looked at him doubtfully, "He's a pirate, Kanda, how am I supposed to feel about that?"

"He was a merchant before turning to piracy," Kanda said, "evidently the process of getting a job took much longer than he'd anticipated. He couldn't risk sending a letter that might have been intercepted either and hoped beyond hope that you and your mother would still be there when he returned. He met the man who smuggled you to China and they teamed up as merchant partners, but because of their strict bosses, they were stuck traveling the same routes. In the end, he commandeered his own ship and kept only those of the crew who were loyal to him. Part of the reason he did this was also because he heard rumors about your brothers being taken away from him to work on other ships."

She stared at him, "and you didn't tell me this before because…?"

"I didn't know how at the time," Kanda admitted sheepishly, "You were so depressed and then all that stuff happened after I collapsed… I just couldn't think of how to do it."

Kai sighed, leaning back and gazing up at the ceiling, "So he was an honest man who let his frustrations run away with him." She smiled, the first real smile Kanda had seen in weeks, "that's so like him."

"Kai, Kanda," Johnny said as he approached them, "Komui wants to see you both."

They nodded, rising to go to the supervisors office, where they found Rouvelier, Link, and Alma waiting as well. Komui looked much more somber than he usually did when assigning missions, which made Kanda wonder what this could possibly be about.

"Oh good, you two are here," he said as they entered the office, "let me start off by saying that this mission is not going to be like the others. You two will be going with Alma to New York to a meeting with someone who claims to know where Allen is. Be careful, though, for I think it's someone who took part in the battle where we lost him."

He held out a letter to them.

_To Supervisor Komui Lee of the Black Order Headquarters,_

_ I do not doubt that you have been wondering about the current location of young Allen Walker. It is your good fortune to know that he is with me and, rest assured, quite safe. We are currently staying at the Crown Plaza Hotel on Broadway in New York City and I am perfectly ready to discuss conditions concerning his safe return. My only condition as of this moment is that I choose the people you send to negotiate. I have heard of the miraculous dealings between certain exorcists and the pirate captain of _The Black Cat's Revenge_ and would like you to send Kanda Yu, Kirihara Kaida, and Alma Karma. Apart from them, you are free to add three more people to the list. _

_I will eagerly await your arrival._

_Gabriel. _

"So who all are you sending besides the three of us?" Kai asked.

"Lavi and Bookman will want to record the proceedings, I'm sure," Komui said, "and Link is accompanying you because he's Allen's former caretaker. Again, be careful, I don't know who this Gabriel is, but I have a feeling he's someone who's worked closely with the earl. There's no other way he could've gotten to Allen."

* * *

"So what do you think? Does this guy really have Allen?"

Kai looked up at her fellow exorcist, "Why are you asking me?" she asked. They were on the ship heading to New York and Kai was perusing the mysterious letter for the umpteenth time.

Lavi shrugged, "You're the brilliant military strategist," he said.

She shook her head, looking back down at the letter, "I've read it over almost a dozen times down," she said, "but I just don't know. I agree with Komui, that this guy is definitely affiliated with the earl, but the way this is written… I don't know why, but it feels like he's telling the truth."

"The captain says we'll be docking in about thirty minutes," Alma said as he and Kanda returned to the cabin.

"I say we go directly to the hotel from the port," Kanda said as he sat down with them, "It'd be senseless to try and stop somewhere to formulate some useless plan."

"I agree," Kai said, "if we're ambushed, we fight, there's all there is to it. We have no way of investigating this guy's numbers, which puts us at a huge disadvantage, but there's really nothing we can do about it." She turned to Link, "I'm going to ask you a huge favor, right here right now."

"What is it?" the blond man asked, looking slightly bemused.

"During negotiations, keep your Rouvelier-loving trap shut," she said, making Lavi let out a bark of laughter.

"Excuse me?" Link cried indignantly, "Why should I obey such a request, Miss Kirihara?"

"Because if you start spouting things against Allen, we're screwed," Kai said simply, "I'm not letting some Central-brainwashed lackey get in the way of this mission, got it? Let me talk and just shut up."

"Considering how well it went with the pirates," Bookman said, "I say we let Miss Kai handle this situation." Kai had kept quiet about the fact that her father had been the pirate captain. The only ones aware of it now were those who had been present at the time. Thankfully, it seemed that old man's words were enough to get Link to stop protesting, since he shut his mouth and refused to speak to them for the remainder of the journey.

They caught the nearest cab and got to the hotel within another half hour. Kai let Bookman handle things at the front desk and proceeded him and the bellboy that was their guide into the large dining hall. Once they were inside, it wasn't long before they heard a voice calling out to them.

"Lavi! Bookman! Bakanda! Over here!" the white-haired boy called, waving them over to a large table in the corner. The redhead made to make a run for him, but Kai stretched out her hand to stop him.

"Slow down there," she said, "We don't know if we can trust him."

"She's right, Lavi," Kanda said, "You know the fourteenth could take him over at a moment's notice."

They approached Allen cautiously, taking their seats across from him and leaving an empty chair on either side of the white-haired boy. He looked at them sadly, probably able to guess why they were behaving in such a way.

"You guys…" he said, "well… we'll get started when everyone get here, then."

"I take it we're waiting on this Gabriel person?" Kanda asked.

Allen nodded, "He's picking up someone from the train station, I don't know who, though," he said, "But he left a little while ago, so he should be back soon. In the meantime, what's been going on?"

"We can't tell you anything until this matter is cleared up, Allen," Lavi said, "you're still the fourteenth as far as Central is concerned."

"But he's not," a voice said. A tall man, with chestnut brown hair that stuck up in the back and warm chocolate brown eyes sat on Allen's right. The pretty woman that was with the man with clear blue-grey eyes and long dirty-blonde hair took the seat on Allen's left. She seemed to be holding in some sort of great excitement and Kai noticed that she kept steeling glances at the boy on her right.

"What do you mean, 'he's not'?" Bookman asked, "It was quite plain when he transformed, I think."

"Yes, but the earl resurrected my old body so I could leave Allen," the man said, ruffling the boy's hair, "he's a tough one, my boy is," he added with a grin, "kept resisting quite nicely even after I took him over."

"Father," Allen said, embarrassment floating up his cheeks.

"Father?" Alma and Lavi cried at once, startling the couple at a nearby table.

"What's the meaning of this, Walker?" Link demanded, "This man is the fourteenth… and you're FATHER?"

Allen nodded awkwardly, "Yeah… apparently," he said.

"And this is Lily, my wife," The man said, "Your mother, Allen."

"I'm so happy you're safe," Lily said, hugging her son tightly, "I feared the worst after I heard your father had died. You can imagine my surprise when I found Timcampy on my doorstep with a letter requesting that I come here to meet you."

"As touching a reunion as I'm sure this is," Kanda said, "We're here to discuss the letter we received from a certain Gabriel. Who, I assume, is your father, Moyashi?"

"It's Allen, Bakanda!" Allen cried indignantly, "And yes, my father's name is Gabriel Walker."

"Well then," Kai said, leaning forward, "Let's get down to business." She turned to Gabriel, "What are your conditions for returning Allen to the Order?"

"Right to the point, aren't you?" Gabriel said with a small smile, "In all seriousness, I'm not asking much at all," he continued, "only that you allow the entirety of the Walker family, as in Lily, Allen, and myself, to enter your headquarters. Before you deny me, just let me say that I want to work with you to destroy the earl, not for any other reason."

Kai smiled gratefully at Kanda as he elbowed Link in the stomach, stymieing his protestations, before asking, "Why would you want to collaborate with us? You're a Noah, one that tried to kill the earl in the past, yes, but still a Noah. It's going to be difficult for us to trust that you really want to work with us. Do you have anything that can make us think otherwise?"

Gabriel sighed, "I do, I've already recounted the story to Allen, but I suppose his friends deserve to know as well." And he recounted his entire tale to them. Once he was finished, he was met by stunned faces all around. Kanda, surprisingly enough, was the first to regain his composure.

"Okay, I'm convinced," he said, "I may not be as good as Marie, but I can tell when people lie, and you certainly weren't."

Kai cleared her throat, "Agreed," she said.

"I just have one question," Alma said, "why did you ask Yu, Kai, and I to come here?"

"To apologize," Gabriel said with a small smile, "To Kanda and Alma for not taking over Allen sooner and agreeing to go with earl in order to save you two. And to Miss Kirihara for injuring her."

Kai blinked, "I healed quickly enough," she said, "It was nothing."

"Well then, I suppose it's all settled," Bookman said, "We'll be traveling back to the Order together, then?"

"Inspector Rouvelier isn't going to like it," Link said, "But even I don't see a reason not too. There's also the fact that we need Walker to fight for us."

"Now can I hear what's been going on?" Allen asked, "I haven't seen you guys in over two months. All I heard was that you and Alma were involved with some pirate thing, Kanda."

Kanda looked over at Kai, who nodded, "Well, Kai's the one who handled everything," he said, "but yeah, nothing too big has happened other than the usual fighting akuma and collecting innocence."

"Liar," Alma said, "You almost died, remember?"

"Died?" Lily asked in shock.

"And you had quite the reunion, didn't you?" Lavi said, "Mr. Samurai warrior."

"Did I miss something while I was on my mission?" Kai asked, looking at Kanda dangerously, "I thought you promised me no more secrets."

"I met my parents," Kanda said, explaining all about the truth of the second exorcist project, ending with, "Do you honestly think I could've found an easy way to explain all that?"

"You seemed perfectly fine just now," Kai said, looking annoyed, "For God's sake, Kanda, I'm not going to rip your head off, so stop looking at me like that. I'm just a little annoyed is all, okay? I've been on edge this whole time, wondering if you were going to collapse into another fit like the one that landed you comatose. The least you could've done was take that weight off my shoulders."

"I don't call him Bakanda for nothing," Allen said, then grinned mischievously, "I fear for the future of your samurai family if you're this idiotic."

"Say that again," Kanda dared, rising and putting his hand on Mugen's hilt. Allen rose as well, extending his innocence to its claw form. Lily and Alma looked on nervously while Gabriel and Bookman sipped their tea calmly. Meanwhile, Lavi leaned back in his chair, watching in amusement as Link sigh with resignation. Kai stood up and walked a little ways away from the table, kneeling on the floor and getting ready to stop the fight if it ever went past furious glares and name calling. She was so absorbed in keeping an eye on the two of them that she almost didn't notice the young man coming up behind her. She stood, turning to find herself blinking in surprise.**11**

"Richards," she said as he approached, the couple that her team had startled earlier in his wake.

"Fancy seeing you here, Kai," Erik said, "You can call me by my name you know, we were engaged at one point, remember?'

Kai blushed, "Not anymore, though," she said, "Oh great, that's going to be a mark on the bill," she added as Allen tackled Kanda to the floor, breaking a glass sculpture in the process. She let them beat it out for a few moments before a pitcher went flying, drenching her in cold water. The two of them looked at her in horror, Allen quickly realizing what he'd done even though he'd never gotten to know Kai. He and Kanda were also covered in water and there was a straight line of moisture trailing between them and Kai.

"Oh shit." Those were the only words Kanda got out before he found himself being assaulted by several hundred volts of electricity. He and Allen fell against each other in a charred heap while Kai proceeded to fish a new hair-tie out of her pocket to the replace the one that had disintegrated. It had done so when Kai had released the lighting from the whole of her body, drying herself off in the process.

"Sorry about that," she said, turning back to Erik, "My friends haven't seen each other in a long time and this is how they decided to handle the reunion. Anyway, was there anything in particular you wanted to say?"

He looked uncomfortable for a moment, "I spoke to a Miss. Monika Daniels around a week ago," he said, "She said you were amazing, taking on pirates and sirens and saving two ships at once. I couldn't believe it was the same woman who had once been my fiancée a mere two months ago."

"Neither could we," the woman behind him said, "To think out son had chosen such a strong young woman."

"We're Erik's parents," the man said, "I'm Luke Richards and this is my wife, Emily. We're very pleased to see you have a good head on your shoulders, Miss Kai."

A cold sense of dread weld up inside Kai as she began to fear the direction the conversation was taking.

"Kai, that was brutal," Kanda said, standing a little shakily and walking over to her, "You practically roasted Moyashi back there."

"It's Allen!" Allen called.

"You two shouldn't be fighting in the middle of a hotel restaurant anyway," Kai said, poking him in the head with a smirk, "you have a name to uphold now, remember?"

Kanda grimaced, "Right," he said, "the whole samurai thing. Did you have to walk on eggshells like that when you lived in Edo?"

Kai nodded, "My father worked for the court, of course I had to act accordingly," she said, "By the way, this is Erik Richards and his parents, Luke and Emily. Erik, this is my comrade in arms and fellow training student, Kanda Yu."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kanda," Erik said, a little stiffly. He smiled as he added, "I'm Kai's former fiancée."

Kanda blinked, "Just how many marriage offers have you had?" he asked incredulously, "First that prick on the ship and now this guy? Kai, I really have nothing more to say to that."

She blushed, "FORMER, Kanda," she said, "and it was something that happened when I still didn't have my memories, okay? And you really shouldn't call Lord Akira a prick, he's your sovereign too, you know."

"He insulted me to my face then proceeded to tell me I couldn't go near you because it would cloud your judgment while you considered his proposal," Kanda growled, "I don't care if he's a prince, he pisses me off."

"Are you telling me I have to compete with royalty?" Erik asked.

"You're not still going after me!" Kai cried in frustration, "And no, I'm not accepting anyone's proposal right now. And when I do, odds are completely against you and Lord Akira. Honestly, do you men never give up?"

She stalked off, leaving Kanda and Erik in an awkward silence, although Kanda felt some unidentifiable pleasure in hearing that Kai wasn't going to marry the prince. In fact, he felt an odd sense of triumph. After all, he too was attracted to Kai, but he was a little annoyed that this encounter was going to push pack the opportunity for him to actually tell her how he felt.

"What a harsh rejection," Erik said, breaking Kanda out of his thoughts, "and I thought the first time was bad."

"You need to take her answer the first time," Kanda said, "She means it the first time she says it. No offense, but I can see why she wants to be independent while she still can."

"What do you mean?" Erik asked.

"I have a feeling she's going back to Japan after our war's over," Kanda said, "and that means returning to a society that's going to demand she gets married as soon as possible. Kai's a strong, charismatic woman and she's not afraid to speak her mind, however, that's not the image she can portray back in Edo. Women are supposed to be quiet, delicate creatures, not strong fighters like Kai. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Erik nodded, "she wants to be free from that fate as long as she possibly can," he said. He shrugged, "Well, then I'm really out of the picture," he said, then clapped Kanda on the shoulder, "I hope that, when she chooses you, you won't treat her the traditional way." He shook his head as Kanda gaped at him, "My friend, I saw how she looked around you. That's the look of a woman who's too strong to admit she's in love. Sweep her off her feet, but make sure you let her walk when she wants to."

And he walked away, leaving Kanda possibly more confused than he'd ever been in his life.

* * *

"Kanda, you alright?"

He blinked, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly as Kai looked over at him, pausing as she laced up her ballet shoes. She'd asked him to come and help her with a few things she was practicing and they were currently in the pavilion in the White Garden. Right now Komui and the other higher-ups were discussing battle plans for the final battle against the earl with Gabriel. It had been about a month since they came back from New York and Allen had been welcomed back with open arms and tears of joy.

But Kanda's thoughts were far from the prospect of war. Today happened to Kai's birthday, April 17th, and although he had wished her a happy one and celebrated her special day with the rest of the order during dinner and the party that took place afterward, he hadn't gotten a chance to give her his gift. To be honest, he was actually embarrassed about it. Tiedool had given her a photo album of all the good times she had at the Order and Emilia and Lenalee had each gotten her a dress, one of which she was wearing now. Chaoji had gotten her a set of black bangles, Marie had given her a few pairs of earrings and Alma had collaborated with them and gotten her a nice box to put them all in. Lavi and Bookman had given her several books and even Moyashi had managed to get her something nice: a book of different ballet stories.

Meanwhile Kanda had worked away in secret, preparing his gift. At first he'd been really proud of it, but after seeing the other gifts, especially the giant bouquet of roses that Jerry had arranged, Kanda felt his to be rather inferior.

After watching her pirouette for a bit, he stood as she motioned him over, saying, "Can you support me?"

He approached, standing behind her and letting her guide his hands to her waist. She really was light, he thought, as she moved through several other poses, almost fragile. Though he knew she was an forced to be reckoned with, at that moment she seemed so delicate, so graceful that it felt as if he were supporting a porcelain doll.

The last thing he wanted was for that doll to break.

"Kanda, you're doing it again," Her voice broke through his thoughts. She looked at him, worry prominent in those clear, dark irises.

"Sorry," he said quickly, taking a thin black box out of his pocket and holding out to her hurriedly, "Here… Ha-Happy birthday, Kai."

She took it, gently unlacing the silver ribbon around the box and opening it. She held the necklace in her hand, looking at it with a warm smile on her lips. Kanda had worked set around the diamond himself and then slipped in on the chain just this morning.

"It's not much," he said, "and the hand-work's a little clumsy, but I hope you like it."

"It's beautiful," she said, her eyes shining with happiness, "Silver's not easy to work with, I can't believe how well you made this." She turned her back to him and swept her hair away from her neck, "Will you help me put it on?"

He obliged and she turned back to him, "Well? How does it look?"

"Perfect," he said.

_Sweep her off her feet._

"Kanda, what are you…" he question died as he picked her up from the ground, pressing his lips to hers gently. After an awkward moment, Kanda felt her arms wrap around his neck and she leaned into the kiss. He curled his fingers in her unbound hair, sitting down with her in his lap as they broke apart.

"Happy birthday," he said again, playing with the necklace with his fingers as they kissed again.

It would be two years before he'd see the silver pendant fall from her neck.

**-cough-theendisnigh-cough-**


	11. Conclude and End

**Like I said before...well actually, the end is here. Sorry if it's rushed, but in all honesty, I'm sort of out of my DGM obsession (on Uraboku right now) but I didn't want to make you guys keep waiting. Hope ya like it, reviews are much appreciated.**

"KAI!" Kanda shouted, coughing as he ran through the smoke. Despite the ruined buildings and heavy atmosphere, he was alive with happiness. After two long years of planning, they had one, finally destroyed the earl. Allen and his father had made quite the fighting duo, taking the earl down as if they were on person. Kanda had seen Kai finishing of Mercym in the direction of the cliff and was determined to find her and shared the good news.

He stopped as something clinked beneath his feet. Bending down, he stared in horror as he picked up the silver chain. The pendant was completely in tact, but the fastening had come undone during the fight. There was something else, the flecks of blood on the once pristine diamond. He followed the trail, his dread increasing with the size of the crimson puddles.

Finally, he reached the very edged of the cliff, the rough sea crashing against the jagged rocks below. On a small ledge, he saw Mercym's crumpled form lying dead and broken, but there was no sign of his lover.

Why? After so much pain, so much suffering, after everything she'd given for the Order, why did this have to be her fate? Sinking to his knees, knowing full well that she wouldn't have survived that kind of fall, he let our a roar of anguish, screaming her name at the top of his lungs.

"KAI!"

* * *

Pain, that was hit her first, after that came the rocking of the ship. She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling of some sort of cabin. She tried to sit up, but let out a cry of pain before falling back on the pillows. Her ribs were broken, that was for sure, and she was pretty sure she had a concussion too.

"Geez, Kai, don't push yourself," a familiar voice said as it approached the bed. She looked, blinking in shock as the young man came into view, his spitting image coming up beside him. Both faces held the same identical expression of concern.

"Renji? Senri?" she said weakly as the twins smiled with relief, "Where am I? Is this father's pirate ship?"

Renji shook his head, "Not his pirate ship, his naval ship," he said, "He explained everything to the emperor, who, it turns out, doesn't have a hear of stone. As a result, father got reinstated at the primary naval strategist in the court."

"He's not kidding," Senri said, "the emperor desperately wanted his strategist, so the only hitch was that dad take his post back, there was nothing else! He was even nice enough to grant us permission to come and get you!"

"We'll be in Edo in a couple hours actually," Renji added, "where we can get you some real treatment for those nasty wounds of yours. That battle must have been hell."

"Ah! That's right," Kai said, sitting up again, groaning as her ribs protested but refusing to lie back down, "The others, the others were fighting too! I have no idea if we… if they…"

"Kaida, lie back down before you make anything worse," he father walked in, his naval uniform looking crisp and new like it always had. His goatee was neatly trimmed and his hair was smooth and pulled back into the low ponytail from her childhood.

"Father…" Kai said, wincing as pain shot through her ribs again, but still not obeying her father's words, "I'm sorry, but I can't just lie here when my friends might be dead!"

"Kai, when I found you, YOU were half-dead on a piece of driftwood." His expression softened as he added, "I sent a hawk to the order, letting them know you're safe and sound. They sent him back saying that the battle was over and won and that they'd be sending your rewards within the coming weeks. As for your… innocence I believe it was called, they said all the power's gone, but everyone's various marks and weapons still remained in tact."

Kai sighed in relief as she sank back against the pillows, although a pang of sadness came into her voice as she said, "I hope Kanda knows."

"That boy? I liked him," her father said, "I'm sure he'll be told, sweetheart, don't worry. Just like back and rest for now."

* * *

"Alive?" Kanda nearly choked on his soba as Alma said it. They were on their way to Edo to meet Kanda's parents at the port. It had been about three weeks since the end of the battle and he was finally on his way home and Alma, who'd lost his parents, was coming to live with him.

"Yeah, Komui just managed to tell me before we left." His friend said, "He wanted to tell you, but you were in such a hurry that he didn't get the chance."

Kanda let out a relieved laugh, "Thank God, she's alive!" he said, "I can't believe it, alive!"

"And I'm sure she'll be waiting for you in Edo," Alma said happily.

"That reminds me, Alma," Kanda said, "Should I start calling you Jae now?"

He shook his head, "Alma reminds me of all I went through at the Order," he said, "I don't want to forget that. But I hate my last name, so Alma Sun is what I want my name to be."

"Excuse me, sirs," they looked up as the waiter approached them, "We'll be docking in about an hour."

Kanda breathed in the fresh sea air as he and Alma went above deck to watch the ship pull into the pier. The port was alive and bustling with activity and Kanda let out a sigh of contentment. For once, he felt like he was home.

Home.

"Hey, Yu, aren't those two your parents?" Alma nodded at two figures waiting on horseback as the ship pulled in, two rider-less horses beside them. Kanda smile as they stepped off the ship, the first real smile he'd displayed since becoming a second exorcist.

"Welcome home, son," his father said, "and welcome to you as well, Jae. You wouldn't remember me, but your father and I were very close friends at the Order years ago."

Alma bowed, "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said as a servant came forward and took his and Kanda's bags, "Thanks for taking me in."

"We wouldn't dream of abandoning one of Yu's friends," Kanda's mother said with a smile, "Can you ride? I didn't know if the Order taught you those types of skills."

"Yu gave me a few pointers and so did Kai," Alma said, "so I think I'll manage."

"Liar," Kanda said with a laugh, "You were flying over jumps after the first month."

"So this is the lively son you told me about, is it, Yudai?" Kanda bowed deeply as his parents did the same, Alma following their example. He assumed the man on horseback was the emperor because of the fact that the prince he hated so much was riding a pace or two behind them.

"Your majesty, your highness," his father said as they straightened, "Yes, this is my son, Yu."

"I hear you had some tough times in the west," the emperor said, looking at Kanda, who bowed again.

"It was nothing I couldn't handle," he said, straightening again, "I'm just happy it's all over now."

"Yes, that blasted earl held quite the influence on me," the emperor admitted, "it made me into a cruel man. But now, I'm happily opening my ports to allow my people to thrive in peace and harmony. We will truly be The Land of the Rising Sun once more. That reminds me," he added as Kanda swung up into the saddle, "how old are you, young man?"

"Twenty as of last month, sir," Kanda replied.

"Ripe for marriage, aren't we? And you're quite the handsome young man," the emperor said kindly, "I bet you'll be getting just as many offers as my son, Akira, here. I hope you don't have your hopes set on one woman, like he does, though."

"Actually, your majesty, I was a little worried about that subject," Kanda said, careful to remember all the court etiquette that Kai had taught him over the past two years, "you see, his royal highness and I are pursuing the same young woman. In all matter of fairness, I feel it's up to her to decide, though."

"Indeed it is," the emperor agreed as Kanda watched the prince struggle to hide his outrage. He smirked inwardly at the rage the ass must be feeling. His father at the leader of the country entered their own conversation as Akira rode up next to him

"I thought it was an easy enough favor," he hissed venomously, "I thought you could do it. All you had to do was stay away from her."

"Forgive me, your highness," Kanda said, "but I couldn't exactly control mission assignments that kept us in close contact. Besides," he lowered his voice, "I feel I know her better than you."

"An arrogant assumption, seeing as how I knew her first," Akira spat.

"First doesn't mean best," Kanda replied simply, "I doubt you'll know how to care for her properly at all."

"And you think you can? That's rich," the prince scoffed, "You may be able to put on airs when it counts, but I bet you're just as violent and short tempered as you were on that ship. There's also the fact that you let Kai put herself in harm's way, you have not clue how to take care of her as a wife!"

"Kanda?"

They all turned to see Kai riding forward on a black Arabian mare, clad in her exorcist uniform and overcoat, her left arm in a sling. She smiled radiantly as she recognized him. She bowed stiffly to the prince and the emperor, wincing in pain as she did so

"Kai, you really are okay!" Alma cried happily.

"H-How did you survive that fall?" Kanda asked, "I thought you… you know…"

Kai smiled apologetically, "By the time I came to, I was already back in Japanese waters," she said, "I was in no condition to contact you, but my father sent word that I was alright. I was so relieved to here that we'd won. But to answer your question, there was some sort of ruined wooden platform that broke my fall before I hit the water. I was going to scale the cliff, but Mercym's body fell after me, knocking the platform loose and hitting me in the head at the same time. I fell again, but landed on the platform as it fell into the water. My ribs are still healing, but other than that, I'm fine now. My father found me drifting and pulled me on board his ship and brought me back."

"You're father's been reinstated? That's great!" Alma said.

"It is," Kanda agreed, "I'm just relieved you're alright." He looked her up and down, taking in her attire, "Can I ask why you're in uniform if you've been here for a while?"

"I heard your ship was coming in today and thought I'd come meet you," she said simply, smiling, "I wanted to wish you luck with the family transition."

Kanda looked awkwardly at his parents, noticing the knowing and encouraging smile on his mother's lips. Taking that as a good sign, he asked, "You'll come join me, right? We made a promise to each other before the final battle, remember?"

Kai blushed, glancing at the prince, who looked like he'd been slapped in the face. She smiled, turning back to Kanda, "Of course," she said, "but just give me some time with my family, some time to adjust back to Japan, then I'll come, okay?"

Kanda smirked in triumph at the prince's dumbstruck look before riding forward and pulling Kai into a kiss.

"I can't wait."

**Epilogue**

_Two years after the encounter at the port, Kanda and Kai finally married among much ceremony on both families' sides and much to the consternation of prince Akira. The samurai vassals of Kanda's family were quite shocked, yet also impressed when they're future leader's wife ended up being just as strong as her husband. However, Kai is currently out of commission due to her being pregnant, much to Kanda's joy_ (the lucky bastard).

_As for the Walker family, Gabriel and Lily enjoyed a good five years with Allen before he ended up meeting a pretty young girl name Eve. He married the stunning brunette a few years later and have named their son Evan. The currently are a part of a traveling and very successful circus_ (That's so typical of you, Allen).

_Marie and Miranda are also happily wed, with two very rambunctious twin daughters by the names of Kayli and Halley. They currently own a music shop._ (such a sweet family, really).

_Alma too married and has named is son Kwan and his daughter Mi after his late parents._

_The wedding of the century changed General Claude Nyne's name to General Claude Zokaro._ (I'm not even going to try and explain).

_As for everyone else, they went their separate ways. Reever became a private detective, Johnny a tailor, and Jerry the best chef England could ask for. Simply, everyone went their own ways, sometimes together, and merged back into society. It was certainly a strange feeling, but everyone eventually settled down. However, the memories of the war against the earl, now known as The War of Sin and Punishment, still remains in everyone's minds and will stay with us until our dying day._

_You may be wondering, what of the dashing, the brave, the undeniably handsome Lavi? Well, he's living happily as a reporter with his stunningly beautifully amazing wife, Lenalee, writing this scholarly journal for his own benefit. Yes, the old man wasn't terribly happy with his decision to leave the Bookmen, but he's not complaining now that I'm taking care of him and surrounding with all the books he could ask for, now is he? But yes, I'm perfectly content, eagerly awaiting my first-born, even if I do have a psychotically possessive brother-in-law._

_Notes:_

_The accounts in this journal have come from both members of The Black Order as well as my own experiences. I hope that all those who receive a copy of this true, yet secret history will forever treasure the words I have written._

Kanda closed the book with a small laugh, "You're s stupid rabbit through and through," he said, looking over at the redhead with a smirk, "You just had to insert your little quirks at the end."

Lavi laughed as well, "It's my work, how can I not put a little of myself in it."

A cry of pain echoed throughout the whole of manor, getting Kanda to spring to his feet and run to his wife. Kai's face was drenched in sweat as she grasped his proffered hand in a vice-like grip.

"It's alright, you're doing fine," he said, loosening the obi her sleep yukata to help her breathe, "Just breathe and don't think about the pain."

"Easy for you to say, you're a man!" Kai forced out before letting out another cry of pain, "This is way worse than fighting akuma! AH!"

The source of crying was not Kai. Kanda smiled as the midwife cleaned, wrapped and finally handed his new-born son to him. After a few moments, when Kai was ready, he handed her the child, watching her tired face light up as she looked at the now sleeping boy.

"You have to name him," Lavi said with a grin, leaning on the doorframe.

"Shut it, Baka Usagi, we've been thinking about it," Kanda said, "We're going with Masa, right?"

"I like Usagi better," Kai said, "I think it fits. He can get confused every time you yell at Lavi."

"WHAT?" Kanda cried.

"I'm only joking, dear," Kai said, "Masa's prefect."


	12. Notice

**Important Update to All Readers**

So, I'm happily settled into college, and working hard to build my major and get through my classes. It is understandable, therefore, that finding time for writing fanfics is a little difficult. Even so, I do have a couple in the works -or reworks. I'm going to write/finish/finalize work for the following series: The Betrayal Knows My Name (because I haven't finished even one version yet), D Gray-Man (because I owe it to myself), Bleach (because I have a fun plot line I'd like to work with, and I've never actually gone very far with writing for Bleach before), and _maybe_ Naruto (if I can keep the idea in my head long enough). As per usual, these will all have some version of my OC Kai, and other OCs will play parts in these fics as well (expect repeat performances from the names Haru, Akira, and Ren). I would like to stress, though, that this is not for lack of creativity, but for lack of energy to create any more new characters, especially when I fear I might bring in OCs from my book. That's right, folks, I'm writing a fantasy novel (I mean it, an actual novel with its own original plot and everything -holy sh*t, right?) and it's taken priority over writing with other people's characters. Still, every author needs a break from her own creations, and I consider working with "stock characters" a good break. That's why I will keep writing fanfiction for now. I do plan to finish each of the aforementioned stories, but updates will be slower, and it will take longer to get them done. All I ask for is your patience, and for you all not to be too hard on my when I hang up the long-term fanfiction hat permanently, which I will do when I finish the fanfics I've promised. I say long-term, though, because I may come back with a few shonen-ai oneshots every once in a while.

The long-term fics I am writing are final drafts of the following already published stories (sorted by series):

_( D Gray-Man)_

In Memoriam

Bound by the Symbol of Kegare

Forced Forbearance

Give Me a Reason

_(Betrayal/Uraboku)_

It's Just a Looking Glass

Where Hell Is a Good Thing

_(Bleach)_

Faded

These are the working titles for the upcoming fics, along with the intended pairings (subject to change):

_(D Gray-Man) _

Life Worth Living- KandaxOC (Maybe, it could end up just a friendship between the two of them).

_(Betrayal/Uraboku) _

Black on Black- LuzexOC (I'm actually really excited for this one)

_(Bleach) _

Security- OCxOC (heterosexual); OCxOC (homosexual) (Another one I'm pumped for)

_(Naruto)_

Fine Line- GaaraxOC (again, I may not write this. The idea isn't fully formed yet and I'm not as invested in the series as I once was).

I've already said it, but I'll reiterate: these are FINAL DRAFTS. If I haven't already completed them, I will NOT be finishing any of the already published stories that the finals are based off of. For that matter, I will not be finishing any other incomplete fics either. I simply don't have the time or inspiration.

As always, I appreciate your support. I won't delete my account, nor will I delete any previously written fics, as they serve as a reminder of how much I've improved as a writer. I hope you all will appreciate the new work coming your way. Nothing makes an author happier than receive feedback on her work. Thank you again, and I hope you're all excited for what's to come.

Feel free to message me with any questions!

~H


	13. Chapter 13

Please go to my account profile and read what's there- IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.


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